10/20 pm - Today was so amazing I had to post twice today! I really enjoy how we start out each yoga teacher training class. Libby, our instructor, reads from a book called 40 Days to Personal Tranformation. Today's 2 laws were: 1) Be true to yourself - be who you are as a teacher and a student. 2) Be still and know.
Both of them hit home for me. Be true to yourself. This is all about authenticity - being yourself, not trying to be someone else. I spent too many years doing that. I now know that when I am authentic, I am so much more comfortable, I like myself better, other people like me better, I have better relationships and feel more at peace. I want this for others, and seek to draw it out of them in conversation. I have realized I have a strong gift of intuition, and I am listening to it now more than ever. Many people are intuitive, but they discount it and don't listen to it. I did that, have regrets about it, and don't want that anymore. When someone isn't being authentic, there is a sense of disconnect. You can just feel it. I could talk about this for an hour, but I won't. I talk about this more in the book I am writing. You'll just have it when it comes out in the summer of 2012!
Be still and know. As I sit writing this, I am looking at a book of the same name by Millie Stamm sitting on my table. I read from it most mornings. This phrase comes from Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God." Instead of running and doing, focus on just being. We are human beings, not human doings. When we grow up believeing we ARE our success and accomplishments, our self-esteem and self-worth become based on what we DO and not who we ARE. We set ourselves up for a situation where perfection is the only right answer. In that scenario, we fail, and are thus failures. This is no way to live. I have realized that I spent much of my life living in this model, trying to please others, trying to DO rather than be, never satisfied. No wonder I never felt successful!
By being still, we also become quiet. Quieting our mind allows us to get the ego, the to-do list, the worries out for the moment. This is probably one of my absolute favorite things about yoga! Not only do I get a fabulous workout for my body, I get an opportunity and a benefit of being still, being quiet....just being. I become calmer, more present, and more creative. It's like spring cleaning and decluttering your house - except you're doing that for your mind. The focus and concentration on my practice, combined with intermittent periods of rest, and final savasana, pays dividends the rest of the day and for days to come. I want this so much for everyone. I am in yoga teacher training to share this amazing gift with others. Namaste.
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