written by for Venus Rising Magazine
Libra 09 - The Relationship Issue Issue
If you practice Hatha yoga, the type of yoga that involves the physical body, it is easy to get caught up in the shape of poses. It takes time to master common poses like triangle and downward facing dog. We spend years refining our form, learning alignment, and molding our bodies into strong yet supple form. Proper alignment keeps us safe and consistent practice rewards us with strength and flexibility.
At the same time there are days when it is easy to get caught up in the physical from. It can be tempting to look around the room and compare our poses to other students. We can also get so caught up in the execution of a pose that we forget our breath or disconnect from what we are feeling in our bodies. No matter what the shape, whether triangle or seated forward fold, the real yoga lies in our relationship to this shape.
Whether you are a beginning student or a master yogi, can you truly connect to your experience in the moment? Can you let your experience be rather than shutting down or trying to change it? These are crucial questions that lead us back to our experience of a pose and reveal the truth of ourselves. The goal of yoga is “to know our selves” and the postures act as a magnifying glass. Each pose presents us with a part of ourselves to look at. In standing forward fold, for example, we look at our hamstrings and our mind’s reaction to what we are feeling in our hamstrings. The postures affect not only our physical form, but also our mind, energy, and emotions. The more we investigate the feeling in the poses, the more we can notice the interplay between these parts of ourselves.
For example, when you are in class and the teacher instructs a posture you dislike, notice your mind’s aversion. How does your breath change in reaction to the judgment? When it’s time for a pose you love, how do the breath and body react differently? When you try a pose that scares you, look at your fear and how it manifests in the body. What kinds of thought patterns arise? Where do you feel the fear in your body?
This way of practicing yoga becomes much more full and interesting. It invites every part of our self to show up and allows us to be with what arises. The more we can look truly at ourselves, with utmost compassion, the more we can befriend all parts of our self. The things we like. The things we don’t like. When we can look at ourselves with compassion and get to know how we work, well, everybody benefits. We become more able to accept and befriend others as a result. We can see ourselves with a little more humor and recognize the messiness inside without struggling to cover it up. Ultimately, we recognize our humanness and learn to love ourselves not just for the things we like about who we are but for the complex, vibrant and interesting dance that is continually happening within all of us. 
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