we need not pretend

We need not show up to our yoga mat out of Ego-identity, pretending we're someone we're not. We need not pretend life is okay, even if it's not. To whom are we pretending?
 .....We need not pretend at all!

If we show up to our mats to practice acknowledging the real moments of the here & now, we feel our own humanity, the compassion for our neighbor, our loved ones & especially ourselves. I often listen in on the conversations of some yoga teachers around, sometimes speaking in a language of vague happiness, sometimes elite righteousness...."just breathe in light & love." I get it, but....
What? Most folks don't breathe in light & love, they breathe in AIR.

Even in our purest states of peace & even good intention, we must acknowledge the world in which we live & the humans who inhabit Her. We find freedom not by escaping the world, but embracing Her & all of Her potential.

I can sense the NEED for yoga in the people I kno, love & meet along my journey, not out of a desire to change their lives, but because I feel their ache, their pain, their yearning. I feel it as powerful as my own. Yoga is a path to discovering the Self, not just for those who have already mastered the pop up into handstand, then into an arm balance & then later meditate for 4 hours. That's dandy but it isn't the majority. Yoga, to me, is creating a space for the realness to occur, for teaching the language of love & light through human experience.
Love & light are within ALL, yet many who show up to the mat do not yet know this language or see it within themselves. Many are turned away by this language, by this supposed righteousness.
So how do we create union, or yoga, within the scope of this darkness & suffering? What happens when we stop pretending?

We show up to the mat regardless of our hopelessness, defeated & powerless spirit; despite every attempt to make excuses & dismiss the practice or our need for growth. We show up as ourselves, in our imperfections, our pains, our aches, our frustrations, our sadness, our weakness. We show up to shed the pretending-skin of the Ego-identity. We show up to discover that we ARE hope, victory & power! We need not pretend we know the poses perfectly or that we are in the best shape of our lives.

We show up to PRACTICE (key word here) opening ourselves to the light & love within, allowing grace & ease to flow through us....especially, ESPECIALLY during difficult times.
Beautiful wisdom can be drawn from the experiences of strife, struggle, doubt & pain. We need not pretend we don't feel.

Our mats provide the "chase lounge" for therapeutic exploration of our deepest fears. Join me on the mat just as you are.....for a ::::
unique blend of sound, mudra, movement & pranayama /
Vinyasa-Flow @8:30am at Spirit of Yoga at Swiha / Tuesday.

with truest love,
the wise owl
XOXO