9 Life Lessons Yoga has Taught Me

Yoga does a lot. People credit it to curing illnesses, diseases, chronic pains, mental issues, etc... None of which have any resonance in my own life right now. I've always been athletic and blessed with pretty decent health. I tried yoga a couple of years ago out of complete curiosity because I wanted to know what all the hype was about. Here is why I've stuck with it ever since. 

·         Yoga is about balance. That means I DO NOT allow yoga to be my life. Balance is crucial, and I actually find yoga through other activities besides yoga. I run, lift at the gym, hike in the woods, sprint up hills, swim, go the park and practice tumbling, bike ride, write piano music…. These are my activities. They all disconnect me from real life. I enter a flow state when I'm in these activities, and I feel limitless. I feel ecstasy. I feel the presence of God. I know who I am.

1.       You can go deeper in anything in life at any time. Stop using your head and thoughts in every situation you find yourself in. It is more important to feel the vibration of life and flow with it. Feel your experiences with your energy, not your mind. 
2. ·   Yoga is not about going to class and practicing the poses and breathing techniques and meditation just for the Hell of it. Yeah, it feels really good, but you want to know the real reason to go to class?- Consciousness. It is an inevitable result of practicing yoga. Iyengar, an awesome teacher, once said that if you open your armpits you won’t be depressed. What? Think about it. If you open your armpits      while standing in a mountain pose, your chest will be shining forward and open which has a direct correlation to the state of your mind and well-being. It’s like an act and react situation. Act with your physical body, and your inner Self will react by reflecting what you portray.
3. ·         When you practice yoga, you disconnect to connect. Disconnect from the world to connect with yourself and God.
4. ·         Yoga does NOT have to be dogmatic. Yeah, it’s nice to respect the traditions of where and how yoga developed, but like anything else in life, things transform over time and change and adapt to personal lives and people’s individual experiences. Yoga is not necessarily a series of downward facing dogs, Warrior poses, savasana, and ‘namastes’. It can be ANYTHING that gives you the intimate connection to yourself, allows you to lose track of time, gives you access to your higher powers, shows you ways to shower love onto yourself and others, ……… 
5. ·         What is yoga? It is to yoke, to be in union, to know that you and me and everyone and everything around us are ALL CONNECTED. We have been, we are now, and we will be for all eternity. 
6. ·         We are undeniably capable of an immense level of power and strength- physical and spiritual, good and bad, loving and fearful. We control this power by altering our state of consciousness and choosing where and how to direct our attention.
7. ·         LAW OF ATTRACTION IS REAL. Believe and receive. Energy flows where attention goes. You create your destiny.
8. ·         Yoga taught me more than I ever have learned in church. I was always confused by the statement in the Bible: “I am that I am.” I searched for years to discover what this mysterious statement meant. I knew God was saying that he is all. He is everything and everywhere. But why were the words 'I am' used? Now I understand completely. Yoga has taught me that yes, God is everything, and so am I. So are you. ‘I AM’, the name of God is me and is you. I translate “I am that I am” to “God is God. God is me, and I AM God.” With this knowledge, I FEAR NOTHING. I walk into the world with complete confidence and comfort in everything.

·         WHAT DOES YOGA MEAN TO YOU?

One Simple Question

I have a proposal for everyone who is reading this. I read about this a while ago and thought it was the best challenge to take out into the real world, a challenge to bring a shift in our consciousness. 

How many times a day do we come in contact with a new person and ask them the same, old, monotonous question: What do you do?

Am I right? You meet someone, you ask their name, and then the inevitable question of what the person does for a living arises. It is almost impossible to avoid. And do we actually care when we ask this question? For the most part, NO. It's like we are set on autopilot or reading a script whenever we meet a person and have to interact with them. The interaction is just as bland for the person being questioned as well. They are always ready to blurt out their life story about their job, what they are in school for, and how they like it. 

But where is the sincerity in these conversations? Where is the true love and interest in one another's lives? There is nothing but a regurgitation of words and a list of topics to cross off. 

That is why I propose a challenge to change what we say when we come in contact with others. Instead of asking "What do you do?", ask this instead:

•  "WHY do you do what you do?"
• Oh Boy, will this will throw the person for a loop when they hear it. It will make them stop and ponder for a minute, even get choked up with how to answer. Why DO I do what I do? What has driven me to continue down the life path I am currently on? You will learn so much more about them when they answer. You will discover their outlooks on life, their motives, and even the activities they participate in that make them feel truly alive or vibrant. When you ask this question there will definitely be a shift in awareness on both ends. This will lead to a bunch of different areas of conversation, revealing all their thoughts, emotions, concerns, and interests. You will actually be able to CONNECT with each other. 

I have seen far too much autopilot, machine like people walking around. I too am guilty of this contagious style of interaction with people. We get so caught up in our own little worlds that we don't take the time to be thoughtful while speaking with others. So let's change this!

Let us be conscious in every interaction we have. Let us look into someone's eyes and give them our complete attention because it is EXTREMELY apparent when we are just running through the checklist of things to say and ask. There is a huge difference between asking and caring. 

Let us be human. Let us feel the energetic connection between one another as we converse. Let us be present, aware, and mindful. Let us be REAL.