Really Real Yoga
A little over three years ago I
did yoga teacher training. I almost wasn’t
allowed the 2-weeks off to go but at the last minute was allowed time off from
my job. I was at a job with a horrible commute that was
literally sucking the life out of me. I
think at the time I thought I could teach a little yoga on the side and who
knew, maybe make a full-time job out of it.
Then I could quit my job and everything would be better. I knew I had a greater purpose than driving
three hours every day, surely. I
returned from yoga teacher training and definitely had a lot of ideas of how I
could put into motion all the things that I was taught. Two months after I returned, I broke my
foot. To say that was a hard time in my
life is an understatement. Once I got
over the, “why me?” I began to see all the reasons exactly why it was me. I truly
believe I needed to learn more about patience and “let go”, that things will happen
in their due time. While I wasn’t able to physically practice the
yoga postures I began to focus on the pranayama (breathing) and the yoga sutras
(mantras). I think there was one day
that I must have listened to MC Yogi’s song, “Breath Control” over 100 times - “Inhalation, inspiration, take a
deep breath, increase the vibration, Exhalation, Exultation, send a bright
light into creation, breathe in, breathe out, release the stress just let it
all out. Receive an inspiration with
every inhalation.” Just breathing helped me in the following
months of healing and rehab. My yoga
teacher training was intense because it was in a short period of time and there
was SO much to learn. Coming back from
training I’m sure I was on a natural high and felt like I could do
anything. It’s one thing to have the
head knowledge but it’s another thing to put that knowledge into
motion/practice. During the next six
months is when I really truly understood my yoga teacher’s mantra – #Really Real
Yoga. What is Really Real Yoga you
ask? It’s emphasized in some of the yoga
sutras, these four in particular:
Progress in the Present Moment – 1.1 Now, the teachings of yoga,
the steps that allow one to progress.
Quiet the Mind – 1.2 Yoga is the ability to direct and focus mental
activity and the ability to still the turning of thought.
See What is Really Real – 1.3 With attainment of a focused mind,
the inner being stands in its true identity observing the world.
Understand What Isn’t Real – 1.4 Otherwise, we identify with the
turning of thought and the misperceptions of the mind.
My explanation won’t do it
justice. For the full explanation from Marianne
Wells, my yoga teacher:
This is my interpretation/application
of Really Real Yoga. It’s what I
mentioned earlier, I knew I had a greater
purpose. Sure, I needed to stay present at my job (with the long
commute) but I also knew that I couldn’t stay at a job where I was just “going
through the motions”. I didn’t have to
think too much about what I was doing at my job. I could wing it and get by. I stayed at my job for almost 2 more years
and Really Real Yoga is what helped me through those two years. I decided in that moment of healing (from my
foot) that I would be as mindful day
to day as I could. I would teach with intention (not that I hadn’t before, but
now more than ever I would teach with meaning). And lastly I decided to be aware of all that was going on around me
– I literally was driving daily to the Everglades. 20 miles of my commute was on Snake Road and
those 20 miles were the most treacherous.
The minute I decided to be mindful and aware of my surroundings, I began
to appreciate Snake Road. Here’s one of
the pictures I actually stopped to take (where I’d normally speed so fast just
to get off of Snake Road):
After two years of searching for
a job I was able to get a job that I definitely “do what I love and love what I
do”. I have learned so much in this last year and
still have more to learn.
This past week on Instagram there
was an “Instagram inspiration” that my yoga teacher and another sponsor were
doing. I’ve never done one of the IG “challenges”
and must admit they seem overwhelming to me.
This one was different. It was
taking all of the “Really Real Yoga” concepts with the hope to inspire others
in the yoga community. Inspire and show
that yoga is so much more than just the Asanas.
The challenge for me is always to stay present and focused, to stay calm
and continue to open my mind. I don’t
ever want to just go through the motions again.
Here’s how I apply “Really Real Yoga” in my daily life:
Breathe – Every day at work at lunch time I
sit and just breathe. Some days it’s two
minutes and some days it’s 10 minutes.
Breathing helps me reset and reconnect.
When my mind is focused on all that lies before me for the rest of the
day, I focus on nothing else but just breathing. Mid-day recharge. “Before you can breathe to learn, you must
learn to breathe.”
3 years ago I broke my foot. I was literally stopped in my tracks and felt
like I couldn’t MOVE. Little did I know
all that I had in store to learn during the following six months. Injuries teach you a lot. I now can appreciate being able to move
daily. I’ve slowed down and am more
mindful with each movement I do make.
And I definitely remind everyone around me never to run in the rain in
flip flops (you won’t get there ANY quicker!)
“It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.”
~Confucius~
Meditation– Meditation sharpens our
concentration, our power of thought, and allows personal transformation. I like to use the quote that Dan Harris says
about meditation when I describe it, “It’s like a bicep curl for the brain.” Meditation for me isn’t easy. My mind is always wandering. I simply acknowledge that my mind has
wandered and begin again. It’s a bicep
curl – strengthening each and every time.
Some days are easier than others.
The key for me has been consistency.
Food– As a dietitian I teach variety,
balance, and moderation. I try and teach
people that a “diet” is simply the food that they’re eating. And I always use the Ayurvedic proverb in my
teaching: “When diet is wrong, medicine
is of no use. When diet is correct,
medicine is of no need.”
Rest/Sleep– “Sleep is the most underrated
health habit.” Cheating your body out of
the R & R it needs can make you more prone to illness, stress, traffic
accidents, and weight gain. My Fitbit
monitors my sleep patterns. They’ve even
now added where I can make a goal for how much sleep I‘ll obtain. I’ve started to meditate now before bed to
try and help and a few yoga poses to help also.
Love – I always tell my nephews that “I
love them to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond forever and ever!” When they were younger they just thought it
was a funny quote. But as they are
getting older they understand how deep my love for them is.
Really Real Yoga –
My yoga teacher uses this mantra
and recites it often. It helps you
understand what Really Real Yoga is and incorporate it into your daily life.
“If my heart could do my
thinking, and my head could truly feel, then I would know what is really real.”
Yoga teacher training forever
changed my life (and continues to change me.)
I often used to think that yoga came into my life at just the right
moment. I didn’t choose yoga, yoga chose
me. I found a renewed faith in
myself. I began to settle into myself
and as I began to settle I began to see that peace is the way. I hope that from today’s post you can find a
piece of inspiration from this concept of Really Real Yoga – whether it’s to
deepen your practice or whether it simply has allowed you to see what “living
the yoga lifestyle” really means.
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