Jala Yoga Flow | Yoga | Shepherdstown, WV

Krishnamacharya, who was the father of most of the yoga poses we know in our modern practices, said that yoga is the practice of seeking out the obstacles to our freedom and working to dissolve them. A yogi, he said, is someone invested in knowing their self better, someone investigating their self. Certainly this does not describe a practice that is for the uncommitted or for those who want only to experience sugar and spice and everything nice. That is not what a yogi is made of.

Yoga, as DeGeneres defines, means “‘uniting’ because when you’re doing it you’re uniting your mind and your body. You can tell this almost immediately because your mind will be thinking, ‘ouch that hurts,’ and our body will say, ‘I know.’ And your mind will think, ‘You have to get out of this position.’ And your body will say, ‘I agree with you but I can’t right now. I think I’m stuck.’”

It is upon us, the passing of the old year, the beginning of one new. There is beauty and renewal in the ceremony of beginning a new passage of time. Poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote:
And now let us believe in
a long year that is given to us,
new, untouched, full
of things that have never been.

The earth is turning inward. Unlike many of us, bent on increasing our already over-stressed, too-busy lives with additional holiday activities, the earth is slowing down, retreating from over abundance and the work of outward growth. We are spending more time in darkness, which serves as a reminder that this is our time to turn inward so that we may reflect and rejuvenate.

Pillsbury biscuits are about as real as a Victoria’s Secret model. Make some biscuits from scratch and you’ll know exactly what I mean. But isn’t this what we all do, try to make everything look “right,” seem perfect on the outside, conceal all of our messes?