Open Heart, Nourished Soul: How Yoga has Gifted Me with Both (Part II)

A month ago I published a post pouring out all my thoughts and musings during my trip to Bali. As I continued to visit a few other places within the country the past few weeks, I realized that I had so much time to see things from a different perspective lately which is why I promised write a second installation on the things I have learned about myself through yoga. I am sharing these with you with hopes that you discover as much, if not more, about yourself through your own practice or whatever holds your passions.

It’s like driving on an expressway–you have to keep up with a certain speed but once you start to move too fast, you fly past the exits. Yoga has taught me not to keep pushing the pedal to the metal and stepping lightly to slow down with ease even before things get out of control. We all need to get out of the fast track every now and then and having the consciousness as to when and how to do this means you have learned just enough about yourself to stay in tuned with the reality of how your body is doing and how you are really feeling.

When we get so absorbed in the whirl of things, we come across challenges that we can barely get out of but are otherwise easy to overcome if only we would take time to reconnect with the Self. A few of the many things that I am able to pick out of my brain at the moment are my lack of contentment, my constant search for approval from others and the instances when I work blindly just for the sake of getting things done. All of these are firmly rooted to one cause: DESIRE. And according to The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, the ultimate cause of suffering is desire. To free our selves from desire, is to liberate our selves from unnecessary suffering.

When the desire to BE more and HAVE more starts to trouble you, find Santosa (simplicity) and contentment because there is no point in us comparing ourselves with others. Rather than worrying about shining brighter than the others around you, focus more on becoming brighter than you were yesterday.

When society steers you into a path much harder for you to tread, take over and shake the pressure out of your system. You are your toughest, worst critic and if other people don’t influence that person in you who beats you too hard, then you end up much happier every day.

When you find yourself asking “Where did the day go?”, slow the eff down and just…stop…for a bit. Seriously. If at the end of the day you realize that all you’ve accomplished was a bunch of stuff for your job, then you may want to make a checklist of things to do FOR and WITH people who matter, including yourself. I used to feel so guilty when I tick off just a couple of things on my To-Do list but when I began listing down the other things that I did that day that made me feel good and allowed me to nurture my relationships with family and friends, the guilt went bye-bye in a snap.

Reality is tough. We were born and raised to be warriors, taught to be strong and to survive. From parents, to teachers, to mentors, they would all say, “It’s a jungle out there”. I think so too. Did you see just how much fun and freedom *Mowgli and Baloo had there? It was crazy. So why not loosen up a little? Don’t walk out of the house everyday as if you are walking into a battlefield.

When I came to the realization that beating myself around does not, in any way, work, the way I saw things shifted as well. It’s like a glass half-empty to a glass half-full kind of thing. I have learned to embrace what I saw in the mirror everyday: my stretch marks, my rounded nose, my morena skintone (which I now adore), and the jiggly parts that will probably never go away. I kept moving to sweat almost every day and eating to nourish myself—my looks no longer being my source of motivation. It was Tapas (discipline) with much less struggle. And I was so happy!

I have learned the art of non-hurting or ahimsa towards myself, which I was later on able to extend to other people and other sentient beings. I woke up one day as a vegetarian and after a few years transitioned to veganism all for the love of and respect for the voiceless who end up being abused by humans who see themselves as “superiors”. From this I have built principles that I now stand up for and try to live by. Yoga eased me into a path that made my reality a breeze. I have developed a deep affair with life that kept me strong, brave and grounded without the need for a gun.

 *Mowgli and Baloo are characters from The Jungle Book–a Disney animated film I grew up with.

I consider myself a student forever. Any teacher most likely sees it that way. After more than a year of teaching yoga, I feel I have barely scratched the surface. And whatever your profession is, I encourage you to see it the same way. Learning not only from the more experienced people but rather finding a teacher in every person you meet.

You know how you used to feel on the first day of school when you were younger? That hint of timidity and perhaps a mix of excitement and nervousness is, to me, the humble child in all of us. Let it come out and always look forward to pit stops that give you the opportunity to learn.

Add to this list and let me know what gifts your practice has unraveled. And hey, it’s a long weekend so make sure you find some time to sit back and just breathe. x

Read: Open Heart, Nourished Soul: How Yoga has Gifted Me with Both (Part I)

Featured Image shot at Patar Beach, Pangasinan, Philippines