Transformation
“Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek no attention.
Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.
May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.”
Dear Friends,
When I step on my yoga mat in the morning, I’m just waking up. Yoga in the morning helps to bring movement back into my body, making me more fluid and flexible. My mind wakes up and I’m ready to begin my day. I start with small movements and expand into my practice with my breath and my motion. Yoga prepares me for my day ahead.
If I step on the mat in the afternoon, it’s usually because I’m out of sorts. Something is off mentally or emotionally (I did a lot more afternoon yoga when I worked outside the home!) In this case, I’m looking for yoga to help me smooth out the edges and bring me to a sense of equilibrium. I often start big here, trying to release the tension or the issue that has a hold on me and then I can slow things down. Yoga brings me back to ‘normal’.
When I step on my mat in the evening, I’m looking to release the busy-ness of the day and change gears to allow my body to rest and restore. I let go of the tension and welcome in the softness that yoga offers. Yoga allows me to release the stressors of the day and renew.
All of this is yoga.
Yoga is transformational. It changes us. Remember the first time you fell in love with yoga? It felt magical to me.
But those changes aren't magic. There’s lots of science behind what we do. We are training our nervous systems to relax by managing the breath and by combining that breath with our mindful movements.
As we continue to practice, we begin to know and understand the changes. We can expect that release of tension or that increase in energy because we've been here before. And then we return and do it all over again.
That's how the transformation begins...in our regular practice. Noticing the small changes that occur while we're on our mat.
Join me.
Nina G