Surreal Yoga

Hello my friends!

I hope that you are enjoying this beautiful, extended weekend! It’s so nice to finally experience summer here!

I visited the Art Institute over the weekend. I was able to see the Salvador Dalí: The Image Disappears exhibit. Kind of trippy. Dalí was a surrealist. He kept pushing the boundaries of logic and reality. It looks like he had fun doing it too! Is it a dog? A fruit dish? Both? Neither?

Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach

The cool thing about Dalí is that he was very comfortable in his own skin. He knew that what he was doing was strange and very new, but he kept pushing it even further. He and his fellow surrealists were interested in art that explored the subconscious. They painted the stuff that they dreamed.

Super trippy.

So…what’s the connection to our yoga?

I step on my mat to become comfortable in my own skin. I can explore what’s happening in my body, my breath, my nervous system. It’s a very conscious exploration. I become more aware of my own self through my movements and my breath. I find connection to the community around me and I find connection to something greater as well. As I rest in my savasana, what I learn about myself eventually seeps into my subconscious. It becomes a part of me.

How does that connection that I find on my mat translate into the real world? Dalí would take that information and create a canvas. I, however, am not an artist with brushes and paint. Instead, this information informs my interactions with people and issues around me. It’s an ongoing process of exploration and learning.

Each time that I step on my mat I can learn something new about myself. It might be as simple as noticing that my arms are sore. Or it might be something deeper than that. It’s conscious and it’s subconscious. It’s real and it’s surreal. It can be super trippy.

It’s yoga.

Please join me on your mat.

Love,

Nina G