My journey with yoga off the mat

“If you want to awaken all of humanity,
then awaken all of yourself.
If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world,
then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself.
Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.” ~Lao Tzu

It’s National Yoga Month--in honor of that--I wanted to share a little more of my yoga journey with you.

Last September,  I blogged a little bit about my love affair with yoga and how it’s brought me to where I am today. I discussed how it helped me manage chronic pain, work through anxiety and stress, and fully realize the power of the mind-body connection.

Since then, I’ve struggled with a regular yoga practice due to circumstances out of my control, but thanks to the foundation I’ve learned from yoga, it’s truly helped me take my practice off the mat and into the world.

I’ve embraced the fact that there is a lot more to yoga than the physical practice. The philosophies deep at the root of yoga of how to live your life, how to treat others, to be more mindful, less judgmental, more compassionate, and to live in the moment....that’s also the yoga.

Perhaps it’s a blessing that my physical practice has been limited and I’ve ventured into exploring deeper.  I know it’s inspired me profoundly and helped me find direction when it comes to free to be yoga tees®.

Yoga Aid founder, Clive Mayhew, may have summed it up best. “If you do yoga, the desire to give develops.  It’s not about asana (poses); it’s about how, through asana, you can give more.”

So while I’m not rocking my down dog or warrior poses as frequently as I would like, yoga is still a part of my daily life.  It’s ignited a fire deep within to constantly work toward peace, hope and change for the better.  We can all make a difference in this world, but it must start with ourselves.

Namaste,
Julie