My human journey through yoga

Being a massage therapist and a yoga teacher causes a lot of conversation with people that I meet. The massage therapist that people see gets to hear every body's aches and pains. The yoga teacher gets to hear everybody's limitations and resistance. The general public has this "type" in mind when it comes to yoga and yoga teachers. The comment I hear most from others is that they are not flexible enough to do yoga. I genuinely laugh when I hear this comment.



First of all, I am not a twisty, pretzel, nuts and bark eating yoga teacher. I am a human being who struggles with my weight, my serenity and my sanity on a daily basis. When I started yoga, I was not flexible either. I was gifted by having incredibly open teachers who taught that yoga is about the journey through your humanity. We can read the Sutras, the different texts and learn the ideal but all of those are meant as tools for us to use through our human journey. And any skilled craftsman will tell you that when you are learning a new skill, we do not start by using every tool in the first week, we learn what is appropraite for us at the time. Sometimes we put down one tool in order to learn another and then eventually come back to the resting tool with a whole new understanding.



I have been practicing yoga for six years now on a regular basis of 4-5 times a week minimum. I will admit that the study of yoga probably saved my sanity through the humbling years of my divorce. I will also admit that I have not tried every tool of the trade nor have I chosen to use each of the tools I have tried.



Sometimes I practice hatha yoga, sometimes I practice kundalini yoga and sometimes I practice simple meditation and breath work. To look at me would clue you in that I am not a thin, raw food nuts and granola kind of gal. Nonetheless, I continue my practice within the realm of acceptance and gratitude for where I am today and what I am ready to utilize today from the knowledge that I have. No matter where I am at, the practice of yoga-connecting the mind, body and spirit in whatever way I am able to connect is what this journey is all about. Experience your humanity. Experience your inability to be flexible as you try an asana or set of postures. Notice what your body is resisting and what it is receiving. Find gratitude and acceptance for what little mobility or incredible flexibility you might have. Enjoy feeling your body, even the uncomfortable parts and bless this vessel which you have chosen to walk through your life. I have found yoga to be an incredible bridge to accepting my humanity and blessing my journey.