The Depth of Yoga
I found and fell in love with the beautiful practice of yoga more than 4 years ago after being in desperate need of something to calm my mind. I was living in Hong Kong during the autumn protests 2019 - my sensitive system was absorbing all the fear, tumult and chaos. At the time I was in pieces due to poor mental and physical health, disconnection, challenging life events and a stressful lifestyle. I had not slept well for months and was in the midst of my awakening.
Some gentle whisper guided me to book a weeks long introduction to yoga and meditation retreat in Ubud. My first yoga class was among the Balinese rice fields in the beautiful Blooming Lotus Yoga shala. The first day I arrived on the matt I felt like I had arrived home. A warm feeling spread across my entire body. It was a full-body yes. This was my expression. This was what I had longed for my entire life. This was how my body wanted to move. This is where I discovered myself. This is where I began to heal my body and mind. Cellular regeneration. Restoration. Rejuvenation of a body that had been in fight-or-fight for way too long.
Ever since, the yoga matt has been my safe space, therapy and creative unlock. The mental, emotional, physical and spiritual benefits the practice has offered me have been truly life changing. Following a yoga practice I feel more balance, clarity and inner peace throughout my entire being. I get in touch with the divinity of life. The magical presence of mere consciousness. I become the observer. I rise above the mundane for a moment. Transcendence.
It continues to bless me with heightened awareness, insights and revelations. Every time on the matt seems to unravel and peel off another layer. It is an experience of meeting myself right where I am. Of holding myself. Of nurturing myself. Sometimes it is dense, dark, intense. Sometimes it is easeful, light and rich. At times I have resistance to practice. Like I am aware that I have built up a lot of stagnancy and will need to go through something on the matt. At times I over-do it - I push my body too hard. That too is a lesson.
The practice offers an opportunity for me to feel all my feelings. It allows me to process my emotions and embody my heart and soul into my physical vessel. It is an experience that can only be felt. Subtle but profound.
Meditation, intentional breathing techniques and mindful movement has allowed me to journey into the depths of my consciousness to explore and expand the limits of my body and mind. Here I tap into the field of infinite potential and light that resides within. Mental blockages, limiting beliefs and toxic patterns are purified. Equilibrium is found.
The vastness I experience in my being, floating around, stretching, opening up, releasing, detoxing, healing is addicting. The feeling I am left with after a good shavasana is better than any drug or external remedy. I vibrate higher. I think better thoughts. I get more productive. I tap into states of non-duality, bliss, harmony and love. I experience being nothing, yet more fully myself. It attunes me to my sensitivity, it calms my nervous system, it connects my body and mind. It makes me whole and complete. Happy and free. Calm and connected.
I view yoga as a sophisticated artform that takes you on a journey within yourself - heightening your intuition and connection to self. The focus of the asanas is to improve the range of motion, strength, mind-body connection, flexibility and stability in your body - yet the benefits experienced off-the-matt is where it gets really interesting.
Yoga is my medicine. For me, it is a divine technology to ride the waves of life. A grounding tool. A necessity for mere survival.
Some of the most special moments, transformations and experiences of my life happened during my Yoga Teacher Trainings in Costa Rica and India. I remember reading Patanjali's Yoga Sutras for the first time - every single word just felt like truth. It resonated to the very core of my being. His philosophy is so simply put yet eloquently compiled across the sutras. The wisdom, depth and clarity just continues to blow my mind…
