So… I guess that’s it, then? WHOOSH!!!! A whole year of being the Moksha Yoga Halifax Ambassador has already gone by! And, regardless of how sad I am to let go of my unlimited hot yoga pass, I am so grateful for everything that I have learned over these last 365 days!!!! and am even more grateful for all of the amazing connections and friendships I have been able to make as a result of this whole experience!!! I have so much love for this entire community, so THANK YOU all for sharing this experience with me. No doubt I’ll see ya in the hot room again soon
GET UP AND GO There is no excuse other than the ones we make for ourselves! You’ll only ever regret the class you didn’t go to. Now that I can’t say “I’ll just go tomorrow,” I’m kicking myself for every class I skipped out on. Carpe diem… right?
BRING YOUR PRACTISE HOME Well, let’s get real, some days I realllllly just don’t want to leave the house. But I’ve made a habit of practicing at home nearly every single day, so I never miss a class! It’s the time that I’m able to spend alone in my room without the distractions of my peers or my reflection in the mirror that I am really able feel what my body needs and that I am most able to work within my own limits. Practicing alone is one of the best ways to kill your ego and get some good focus going.
LISTEN To everyone. Your body. Your mind. Your peers. Your instructors. Everyone. We all have an opinion, but that doesn’t necessarily mean any one view is better than the next. But get past your ego and open up your ears!!! It’s so important to hear what others have to say: you never know which cue might lift your bridge a little higher or sit your eagle a little deeper. It is from listening to each other from which we know and are able to grow!
REPLENISH Eat healthy, drink water, and sleep a lot. You need your body like your body needs you – it’s a give/take relationship. We are not indestructible!!!! Overworking our bodies and filling them with garbage is a frequent mistake that a lot of people in our contemporary world make! And, believe me, I am noooo exception to that (“Everything in moderation, including moderation” – thanks for the junk food justifications Mr Wilde). Take rests when you need, be mindful of what you eat, and remember that you’ve only got one body, so treat it like the temple it is!
TRY AGAIN TOMORROW A good way that I’ve found to think about things is as though life is just one big experiment. We try things out. They don’t always work, but they don’t always fail, either. The point is that, since we’ve experimented, now we know (even if what we know is what we don’t know… what?). There is no shame in making a mistake, falling out of a pose, or having a failed experiment. Regardless of what the products of our experiments are, they have value: from them, we can see what we’ve done right, how we may have gone wrong, and are pushed in the direction of a new approach. All that matters is that you step back up and try again tomorrow.
peace and love :) Simon