Yoga: A Metaphor For Life

Yoga and its many benefits actually offers us something that we may overlook. It allows us to engage with our own bodies in a way that enhances what we understand and know about ourselves. It is the ability to persevere and reach the goals that we set for ourselves that can be compared to a yoga practice. It encourages us to see our constantly evolving path through life within the very postures, breaths and mantras that we focus on during a session. The pursuit of anything that delves deeper than just the superficial or physical level will lead to us to a place where we have the focus and energy to pursue not only what we strive for, but find and maintain our balance as we manouveur our way on the tightrope of life.

 

Sometimes we push our bodies, and we achieve new levels of flexibility and strength but other times we just can’t seem to achieve the simplest stretch and our bodies feel like we're beginners all over again. There can be times when we just can’t hold a pose and think we look awkward and we start comparing our poses with the person next to us and find ourselves thinking why theirs look so good when we just look uncomfortable. We're often misled into believing that one day we'll wake up with a great recipe for life, and that we have all the answers for what makes us happy and how we go about obtaining this. 

 

The truth is there is no formula. There is no set of rules we can follow, all we can do is learn as we evolve and keep that hunger for the things that make us vulnerable, things that keep us grounded and things that help us get through all the noise, roadblocks, and nonsense. The breath as it is in our yoga practice is vital for this. It keeps us grounded in the place we are at any particular moment and allows us to delve deeper within and let go, see things clearly and not get lost in the haze. This same philosophy can be applied to our everyday lives. It's a matter of turning up. Being in the moment and maintaining that balance that is vitally important in our yoga practice and in life.