Yoga: union of mind, body and spirit. I feel better connected to God and others when I operate out of a place of wholeness and have recently had a MAJOR aha! There must be Divinity in ALL of me-- my body has an innate wisdom to communicate, I use my mind to learn and problem solve and my heart/spirit guides me in ways I can trust but that are not always readily apparent. One important message that came through on my mat recently was "I have found a place of paradox where I can live peaceably. It is there that I am confident I am enough, I know enough and my unique gifts are enough. AND YET, I actually know very little of the larger reality at work.
For most of my 48 years I have ignored the communications generated by my belly pains, tears, goosebumps, hangovers and tiredness...forging ahead with an abundance of ice cream, margaritas and pasta! It seems that after 10 years of regular yoga and meditation practice, I have been regularly receiving communication from the wisdom placed in my physical body. What a revelation that my spirit isnt to be revered above my mind and body. What a confirmation from my main man, JC, that He is the Truth-- Divinity and Humanity co-existing in one being. Herein, lies one of the many similarities between yogic philosophy and Jesus's teachings, but somehow history has separated the two. And not just separated but much of traditional, fundamental Christianity will point to yoga's roots in Hinduism as satanic. It is one of my missions in life to work so that people who are intimidated by trying yoga at a local studio can experience embodying the Divine alive inside each and every one of us. The obvious space is in the local churches!!
I am journeying toward equanimity and respect for each.
I love my body and I love my spirit but there remains judgment about the mind. For many of my students, it seems that most of their criticism is toward their body. As I get older, my mind is challenging me with memory issues and focus. However, I initially pursued a meditation practice to aid in this holistically nearly three years ago and that step was the first in me finding my true calling: teaching yoga and meditation to the incarcerated and now other underserved populations.
Alan Watts says that 'the loss of paradoxical thinking is the great blindness of our civilization' and Father Richard Rohr goes on to say "which is what many of us believe happened when we repressed the feminine side of our lives as the inferior side. It was a loss of subtlety, discrimination, and capacity for complementarity." Each of us houses masculine and feminine energies. May the gentle, compassionate and interconnected in each of us arise and flourish.
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