I had the honor and privilege of speaking at Ignite SD last night. Ignite is a speaking event where people present 5 minute speeches and a 20 slide PowerPoint about something that's their passion. I of course spoke about yoga. Below is a copy of my speech. For more about Ignite, check out www.ignitesd.com.
I need to preface this with the fact that I have always been a bit of a rebel. I started doing yoga when I was 17, long before yoga was commonplace. I took a community school class with a 40-something hippie in a junior high gym that smelled like a cross between ninth grade sweaty socks and patchouli oil.
I was intrigued, entranced, bewitched.
25 years later, I am still rocking my way to nirvana, and even teaching yoga.
There are a lot of misperceptions about yoga. For one, we all shop at Lulemon. I can’t afford it and don’t fit into most of their clothes. I can’t put my foot behind my head or do a full on back bend and I probably never will. And I am ok with that. I practice what I like to call yoga around the curves, because I will never be. You don’t have to be skinny to do yoga. Yoga originated out of Hinduism as a moving prayer, but in the United States, the religious nature is virtually lost. I am a practicing Episcopalian and I find little conflict between yoga and faith. In fact, its deepened my spiritual journey because I spend time in meditation and prayer on a regular basis. Like I said before, I am more of a punk than a hippie. I don’t smell like patchouli, and after a road trip in college following the Dead on spring break, showering is my thing.
I hear from a lot of people that they cant do yoga. Anyone can do yoga. If you stand up, you are actually in mountain pose. You bend over and touch your toes-congratulations you are now doing forward fold. Sit cross legged? You are in meditation pose. Yoga is a part of our everyday lives.
The biggest lesson I have learned from yoga is to breathe. The act of breathing is an autonomic action, inhaling and exhaling from the lungs.
In the Hebrew, the word for breath is ruach, as in ruach elohim or the breath of God. It was the primal force that gave way to all humanity.
The act of breathing is life giving. You can save someone else’s life by breathing for them. The happiest sound is a baby taking its first breath outside the womb.
Yoga taught me to breathe. Its not just the reflexive in and out. There are so many different types of breath for different circumstances on the mat-lion breath and snake breath and ocean breath for examples-that help you calm your mind or deepen into a pose.
Breathing is life. If you actually focused on your breath for a minute, which I strongly encourage you to do, you can actually change your energy level. By being a shallow breather and not fully expanding your lungs, you are actually depleting energy. When you have time, lie down and put your hand on your stomach. Feel your body expand with the inhale and contract with the exhale.
People think of yoga as being able to put your feet behind your head or doing a headstand. I can do neither, even after practicing for 25 years now. I don’t think I will ever be able to do, and that’s ok. Another thing yoga has taught me is acceptance. I am ok with my body not doing x or y because it is capable of many more wonderful things. Life is not a competition, it’s a solo act.
Thanks to yoga, I have learned to build on my strengths. My students will attest to my fondness for the warrior series. I look at it as a chance to both build strength, to reach and grow and yet be grounded at the same time. I don’t think I would be able to do all that I do in my life without the yoga practice I have. Its taught me to be flexible, to be willing to take chances.
The most important lesson I have learned is to be flexible. Like a tree trunk is rooted, the branches soar skyward, bending and twisting in the breeze. I have learned do the same. My core values are my trunk and they are steadfast and firm. The everyday stuff from cleaning the house to dealing with a fractured fibula to whatever happens are the branches. Being flexible, I move with the wind blowing through. Sometimes I lose my leaves-or temper. Other times I bloom.
Part of yoga is practicing mindfulness. Its through meditation and movement that you become more self aware. For me, self awareness has led to compassion-for myself and others. That compassion has encouraged me to focus my life on giving. Whether its supporting a cause financially or through sweat equity, I know that I am not an island and we are all in this together. Just breathing with others in a yoga class reminds us how connected we all are.
Yoga classes do have their own distinct language. Hindi terms like asana and sutra get bandied about, sometimes without much context. Namaste is probably the word most associated with yoga today. Roughly translated, it means the light in me salutes the light in you. Getting back to the idea of compassion, we are all beings of light wanting to share that light with others. Like the Sunday school song, this little light of mine, I am going to let it shine…and not hide it under a bushel. We need to let others shine too, whether or not you agree with their thoughts, actions and beliefs. There is a saying (or sutra) that you focus on your yoga, and not anyone else’s. The world would be so much better if we all kept that in mind.
By meditation, movement and prayer, we all can salute the light in others. For me, this was just a progressive journey as a rebel. Thanks to yoga, that compassion has expanded to doing good for others-both people and animals. I won’t get into my personal philosophy here, because that would take more than the time allowed. Lets just say its made me a better, more spiritual person. I can tell the difference in myself when my practice slides, and that it’s a reminder to let the light shine.
Yoga is more than a class at the gym. It’s a lifestyle, whether you chose to be a vegetarian or not, whether you are more conscious of your choices, and a chance to deepen a spiritual path. Its for every BODY fat slim flexible or not. You do yoga without even knowing you are doing yoga. When you stand or sit or bend, that is your yoga. When you breathe, that is your yoga.
Being one with each other and the universe, that is your yoga.
The world would be a better place if we all just did a collective om once in a while and remember that we are all one.
Om mani padme om
Shanti shanti shanti
Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. Margaret D. Nadauld
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