We Are The Ones We've Been Waiting For

Understatement of the year is that this pandemic will have lasting impact. I'm not talking about the social ones, economical ones or the political ones - this is not the platform for those discussions, however valuable and warranted they are (AND THEY ARE). There will be emotional impacts, psychological impacts, mental impacts on individuals and communities at large.

Reminder that this is a blog by a (new) yoga teacher (me). It is about my yoga journey, and so I'm talking about how I as a yoga teacher and my teaching community specifically can respond to those impacts.

The title of this post, I humbly borrow from the title of a book of reflections by Alice Walker, famed author of many books, most notably the beloved novel, "The Color Purple". It sums up what I believe I am meaning to express by way of this post. One might argue that if sharing the gift of yoga is one's calling, it is then a duty to offer it up to help others. My hope is that in some small way - by giving people simple ways to connect with the breath, pause and reset for a moment, build awareness of the mind/body connection - I'm giving people tools to cope in this pandemic. Cope as it is happening. Cope as it moves away from us. Cope as the scars heal.

The truth is, my yoga practice puts me in a very special position to help others. I practice for these times. Sure it is funny to remark that all yogis are in some way "crazy" (forgive the trigger word) and that's what brings us to our mats all the time - yet there's some truth in that. The French philosopher Pierre Teilhard de Chardin is credited with saying "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience." So of course, yoga!

Read the last part of that quote again.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS HAVING A HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

I do not in any way consider myself to have finished my journey! I have so far to go! Yet there are many lessons I have learned so far. The eight-limbed path of yoga has certainly offered me a number of ways to "go underneath the stories" of the past. The practice of meditation, pranayama, self-study and asana all combine to help me manage my life experience.

Yoga allows me to listen to my self, my environment, to others with my entire body. I believe I have come closer to what is in my own heart. I'm practicing ways to communicate what is in my heart more clearly to those around me. The essence of my being, the core of me is growing more and more tangible every day.

This is all to say, I want to help - I think I have some ways that can help - so ask me for help.