Demystifying Mindfulness
When I used to think about mindfulness, I had this big, lofty idea in my head. It seemed totally inaccessible unless you had a level of self-control and self-awareness that rivaled a monk's. I thought that it was something which had to be explicitly practiced and often in ways that seemed really traditional, even ascetic (soaked in self-denial or self-punishment). Mindfulness definitely didn't seem in any way related to savoring or enjoyment…What if I told you all of that was total….bullshit?
Yoga - Finding Balance between Perfection & Complacency
For some, yoga can be just another theater in a long war with yourself- be it with your body, with your achievements, with your capabilities…When you try to counteract this tendency, you may find that you swing the other way into complacency or even a fear of trying too hard, which results in not trying anything at all. Is it possible to find balance in yogic practice if you're a recovering perfectionist, achiever or have a history of eating disorder or body image issues?
4 Shape Styles that Foster Embodiment
When you work towards embodiment, you may begin to more often feel in your body and/or become more receptive to your sensations and needs, perhaps beginning to honor them with your choices and actions. Here are several general shape and movement styles that could figure nicely into yoga sequences that favor embodiment. The language used in cues and generally to frame the practice as well as how safe a participant feels in the environment are also relevant factors for how beneficial the sequence may be.
Mind-Body Dualism & Embodiment
But yoga asana is about being inside yourself and taking a gulp of the cocktail your senses are serving you. It's not about numbing or punishing or earning…There are no shoulds. There is healthy alignment. There are considerations to avoid injury. There are props when you need support or want to extend. But there isn't supposed to be pain or strain. Yoga is about caring for your body-mind, giving yourself what you need to be in balance - including mental, emotional and relational balance. It is so much more than looking skinny in tight pants. WAY more than breathy platitudes said like they're played in slo-mo. And definitely beyond any kind of blind religious worship.
Origins Story
Sometimes, I tell myself that it's not true, that I don't have a history of complex trauma, that there's nothing "wrong” with me…But when I stop and inhabit my body (or come crashing down from a trigger), read the symptoms, I can't deny that I am coming off the page. I can't deny that the most crucial factor to me being alive and thriving right now, the thing that's tethering me to the ground for the first time in so long, that's giving me clarity, is a yogic mindset…mainly yogic philosophy and practice as well as a mindset and routine favoring self-acceptance and self-care.