Yoga, for me, is a companion, that walks along side me in my journey. I deepened this understanding after having my second baby.
When I started getting back into my Yoga practice, I went to a class from the same lineage I’d originally trained with. I will always be grateful to the foundations I learned from this lineage, seeped in Vedic philosophy. The postures, sequences, chants and rhythm were very familiar, I had been practicing them for years.
Yet, I kept coming out of those classes feeling frustrated with my body. I couldn’t get my body into the same shapes I had in the past. For a while I felt disappointed with my body, like there was something wrong with me that I had to fix.
Choosing a new path
Then I went to another type of class. We used Yoga gear and I started working on finding my personal expression of a Yoga Asana. I tuned my practice for here and now, in my body at this present moment.
I realized that my body had changed but my Yoga practice had not. There was nothing wrong with my amazing body, I didn’t need to fix it, my practice needed to change.
And so I changed it, and I haven’t looked back. My daughter was born nearly 11 years ago, and my Yoga practice had blossomed since then. I stopped looking for outside guidance about my own body’s experience and needs. I started listening more deeply to the wisdom and miracle that is my body.
The media and the underlying culture around us tells and shows us who we are supposed to be. Tells us how we are supposed to look and feel. It’s time we listened to our inner voice and silenced those outside voices.
Time to listen to our bodies, our experience, our feelings…and let them guide us.
You may like to think about what aspects of your life you may be trying to squeeze into an idea created by the culture around you. What aspects don’t fit your lived experience?
Anne Cullen
I love going to Ruth’s yoga classes because they are inclusive in a way I’ve never experienced in other classes. She is so gentle in her approach, and instead of the postures reminding me of what my body can NOT do I always leave feeling proud of it for what it CAN do. Highly recommend attending especially if you are feeling hesitant about yoga due to your body size or any limited mobility you have currently. Thanks Ruth for creating such a safe space!
Thrive with Ruth offers unique Yoga classes and fermented food adventures, in group settings or one to one.
