What's Important?

Core: the central, innermost or most essential part of anything.

We were asked to bring something important with us to Sadhana (spiritual practice) and, though I won't be there, I wanted to share what I would have brought. My Core. The reason why I entitled this blog Abs and Asanas is because both yoga and core (physical and otherwise) are essential to me in my life (ok, so I also liked the sound of the title and have been given the nickname "Abs" on a few occasions ;) but I often have an assortment of reasons behind what I do). What I hold to be the most important and the most essential part of me is what I carry around on the inside because it's what carries me. While I acknowledge my feet for doing an awful lot of carrying, there is something much deeper that really gets me going.

At the core of who I am is Love. It guides me even if it's fear of not receiving love that jumps in once in a while. I'd wager I'm not the only one who could break it down to this.

One of the most important goals in my life is that I make a difference in some way. Hence, becoming a yoga teacher, then a yoga therapy practitioner and an advocate for reducing, reusing and recycling ;) The little things add up in my books and so I can be very detail oriented at times and concerned over the whys and hows of what's going on. If I give my attention to something, you can bet I am contemplating many different directions to come at it from, concerning myself with how I think I could best be of service and chronically self-aware-ing all over myself along the way. Any more Vata anyone? ;)

What I like to call my core assets (what's most important to me) would include: Authenticity, Awareness, Ahimsa, Beauty-seeking, Comfort Zone edge surfing, Compassion, Connection, Empathy, Fun, Gratitude, Growing, Inspiration, Learning, Listening, Making (and hopefully) Forgiving Mistakes (goes with the learning), Simplicity and Truth. There are many more but sleep is also a core asset, which would be Self-Love. As the time shows, I'm still working on this one as well as many others. This is what makes my journey itself one of my most important assets. I'm grateful to have shared a piece of my journey.

Love and hugs,

Alissa

Ahimsa - Love and Reverence

I have found that if you love life, life will love you back.  

~Arthur Rubinstein

Disclaimer... this post contains mention of violence and feelings ;)  It was also written over a month ago but c'est la vie. 
 Ahimsa... the first Yama. Also known as non-violence or non-harming. I've come back to it as of late... wondering where it may take me. Today I came across it in, what seemed like, a novel way. In order to explain it, I feel the need to tell a little background first. For much of my life I have denied being "girly" (there are, of course, underlying reasons for this that I will not go into here). I have chosen things that were sometimes considered more for guys over things that girls may be more likely to do. For instance... I chose throwing a football around over doing my nails; weight training class in highschool over some other elective (though I also took sewing); watching football over whatever else was on; buying and driving a baja bug (meant for off-roading) rather than a "sensible" car; learning how to weld, and fix said baja bug (see pic below) rather than, again, caring about fingernails, hair, clothing, makeup, etc. plus many other ways I decided that "guy stuff" was much more fun than "girl stuff" lol. I like doing what the guys do and being strong, independent and able to take care of myself in many ways.  I would rather go for a hike or throw a football or frisbee around then fuss over my hair. Having said all this, I do enjoy cleaning up and putting on a dress once in a while (see pic above lol) and I see nothing wrong with others "fussing" over whatever they want to, I may just choose something different sometimes.

So, back to Ahimsa... I had an interesting reminder of how I may cause harm to myself without realizing. There are the obvious ways like physically and mentally "beating" myself up in some way (on the mat or otherwise), but there are many more subtle ways. Denying a part of myself is one. On occasion, when I have been "one of the guys" and focused on my masculine traits, I may forget or deny my feminine traits.  It's not usually a good idea to deny a part of oneself ;) It can turn up to bite us in the ass at some point. For me, it shows up as sensitivity. Emotions remind me that I'm a woman. Very often I would rather be strong and independent than let someone help me or treat me like a girl. The other day, while I was out walking with a friend and we climbed up on something, he offered me a hand up since he got up first. I let him help me and realized I usually make sure guys know that I can take care of myself lol. This felt much better to receive his offer rather than deny us both the chance to experience masculine and feminine qualities enhancing  and supporting the other. 


Another way this has caused me harm (and even violence) in the past is that when I allowed others to treat me as though I was hard rather than soft, I got hurt. I won't go into much detail here since it's in the past, but I'm still learning from harmful situations which means they have benefit and I have a choice in what perspective I take. At some point, I chose a way of being that was a reaction to these situations that served me for a time, but is no longer appropriate. So, I share what I am learning to let go of. In some way, a little bit of my independence for inter-dependence among other things. 


As I read over some of what I've written here, I see a lot of obvious points and part of me wants to not share all of this. However, putting it into words on a page make it stick a little more. I have learned that I enjoy finding more balance when it comes to my masculine and feminine traits. I can go out and get dirty, be strong and still be soft and put on something pretty once in a while lol (besides living in yoga clothes). I can be independent and still receive support from others. I can hold both "sides" in love and reverence and choose which one is appropriate in any given moment. I do not need to be strong all the time. I can also be very feminine and still be strong :) No, I did not just figure all this out, but I did have a few things hit home in a new way that is mostly for me to play with. I do hope by sharing these small pieces of it that I trigger something in someone else as I was triggered by a few key things in the last little while.


Core assets... Ahimsa, honouring every trait.

Thank You

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. 

~Meister Eckhart

If bears are grateful, I'm pretty sure this little guy was. Mama bear and two cubs have been roaming the neighbourhood lately and I'm grateful for being able to witness them... even if it means a bit of cleanup afterward ;) I realize the implications of bears in garbage (or compost in this instance), but I love that they grace us with their presence and I normally lock the containers. I am grateful for the amount of nature that surrounds me here. I'm sure they will be off to hibernate soon.

I'm also very grateful for two other animals that are gracing my life lately. I'm dog sitting my Uncle's two 10 month old pugs for the next two weeks. Cute and hilarious are both understatements when it comes to these two (Doug and Stewie lol). We walk down to the beach and back numerous times a day and I giggle every time at the sounds they make, their exuberance and the way they walk together, pee together and sometimes run into each other while doing either. We'll go for one more walk tonight and I'm sure they'll have me laughing again. I'm finding so much gratitude surrounding these little bundles of grunting fur. They are cuddled up at the moment sleeping off an active adventure at the dog park, but we'll go for one more round of neighbourhood territory marking to make sure we get through the night ;)

I'd like to offer gratitude out to many other sources right now as well. Thank you to my family and friends for adding love and joy to my life and experiences to enjoy and/or learn from. Thank you to the community that surrounds me at Kushala Yoga. Thank you to all those who have graced my life with their presence for days, months or years and all the growth and learning, laughter and tears that has accompanied that. Thank you to mentors that have been or are part of my life. Thank you to those who I have found it hard to be grateful for at some point for the gift that brings (perhaps later than expected). Thank you to Nature for all it's beauty and to Life for all that it offers.

This could really be a long list, but I'll end as I've always ended any gratitude list and say thank you for everything. As the quote points to, Gratitude packs quite a punch ;) and is often said to be one of the most important practices to remember and live by.

Core assets... Gratitude (so big it may call for another post). What are you grateful for?