What I Have Learned From My Body On and Off the Mat

Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is something I have learned through experience, but often reading a quote as a reminder helps it sink in again. It is true for me in that what others say may not feel like my truth. I know it is also true that what I say may not feel like truth for someone else. Hence, words of consolation or trying to make something better for someone else may be futile. Sometimes I may strike the right chord, other times I'm way off. Peace of mind can only come from the mind that is open to that peace.

What I have learned from yoga is that it is best for me to listen to my own body. This is true on the mat when pain is telling me I've gone too far and off the mat when my body is speaking in other ways. My body is always speaking to me. The question is only ever whether I am listening or not. This can be very different from what my mind may say ,and though my mind and body are ultimately one in the same, they often speak very different languages.

In this moment, my body is speaking to me with a rash that says I ingested something I was better off not to, and that I was listening to another truth other than my own. This rings true in yoga class when someone on another mat has a pose that looks different from my own. In the case of my skin... if I had listened to my body more, it may be a different story, but now my body is teaching me something (many things) I may not have learned otherwise (or needed to be reminded of). I have noticed that the body speaks up quietly at first and then gets louder if unheard and takes the form that we are sure to listen to. Kind of like how the mind knows the thing that will get attention as well. 

One of my favourite things while teaching is to let everyone find their own posture or form of movement. While I am the guide for the class, the bodies attending the class are the ultimate teachers. Of course, since we may have been taught to listen to others for guidance, this can be a little strange at first. There is still a need for a teacher to guide, offer suggestions, and perhaps challenges, but each body must be listened to by each individual. This is where yoga again moves off the mat. When I can take that into the rest of my life, I find I have the perfect teacher for me. Others have the perfect teacher for them.

When my body has something to reveal to me, taking time to listen is a big part of the answer. As I move further into my training and facilitate more people listening to their bodies, I must remember to take time to listen to my own. Speaking of... my meditation practice calls... another great form of sadhana (practice).

Extremely important core asset... listening to our own body. Teaching Hatha Core tomorrow night has me thinking of many other core assets... like Plank Pose and many variations :)


Bought this book at a meditation and partner yoga workshop over the weekend.