My Love/Hate Relationship with Yoga Poses

I have a love / hate relationship with the physical practice of yoga. 

When I started practicing yoga 25 years ago, I fell in love with the way powerful, graceful movements could weave with the breath of the body to honor the Divine. 

That’s when I knew I wanted to teach yoga!

But when I started teacher training, I found myself practicing these challenging “pinnacle poses” of yoga (the ones that made you a so-called “master” of the practice) - and ending practice feeling worse than before.

Headstand was my greatest challenge!

I would wake up every morning, drag my mat to the wall, and attempt this pose - most of the time, to no avail.

But even after I “mastered” this pose, it never felt right in my body.

I ignored that, because I thought self-mastery was necessary to become the best yoga teacher possible. 

Now, I know and teach otherwise! Because one of the main “commandments” of yoga is AHIMSA. 

Ahimsa is the practice of living every moment with love and reverence for all things.

That’s a fairly easy practice for me as a teacher, with my students - but it’s always been more challenging (and often ignored) in my own practice. 

The good news is, I’ve now learned to listen to my own body, to soften into my own practice v push through it. 

And now when I step off the mat, I feel fulfilled by my practice, invigorated with new energy, and balanced.

Here’s the lesson: Yoga is so much more than mastering an individual pose. 

It’s actually about realizing deep reverence and respect for the bodies we inhabit, the ones that bring us to the mat (whether we can do headstand or not!)

If you’d like to learn more about how to practice AHIMSA on your mat, please visit this page to see what’s available right now.

Love to you,

Kathie

You are already Whole + Perfect

Here’s what I’m contemplating lately… “The sweet pea just is.”

She doesn’t think, “Oh, I’m going to make it rain today, because I’m thirsty,” or, “Gosh, I need more blooms so I look as good as my neighbor.”

She’s just herself! She’s unapologetically exactly who she’s here to become. 

Which makes me think… what would it be like if I started to UNAPOLOGETICALLY be myself? How would my life feel different if I started to live in greater alignment with the pure, exquisite part of me that’s already Whole + Perfect? 

(And what if that doesn’t require as much “efforting” as I think it should?)

According to Tantric yoga teachings, the Right View is when we stand in the Truth that we are already Whole, Perfect expressions of the Divine… which means, our whole purpose with yoga practice is to remember that!

When I’m more aligned with my worldly self (the one I’m more used to embodying), there’s often this sense of comparison, frustration, self-doubt… which can feel like a tightening in my chest and in my stomach. 

And, living from my “worldly self” also tends to thwart my Creativity - which is maybe the most frustrating part for me, because CREATIVITY is the place from which I want to live and teach!

But, when I do the deeper practices of yoga (like meditation, deep breathing, nature walks, contemplation, journaling), I connect with the part of myself that feels Full, Bright, and Creative. 

That’s what I want more of! And that’s the practice… 

Yes, it’s normal to boomerang from one experience of Self to the other… but the purpose of yoga practice is to REMEMBER + COME BACK to the truth that we are already Whole + Perfect as we are right now!

If you’re ready to explore this idea further + dive into personal practice, head over here to check out my latest offerings (or dive into the archives of this blog for more!)

Love, Kathie

How To See Possibility In The Void

(Listen, or read below!)

One of my favorite wisdom teachings of yoga is that - at the crossroads of life, we have the opportunity to choose… 

We can choose despair, unworthiness, and judgment. Or we can choose joy, possibility, and faith.

Here’s an example: Last year, one of my dear friends (and an incredible yoga teacher!) asked me to co-facilitate a silent yoga retreat with her. 

And I found myself at a crossroads… 

The part of myself that’s deeply familiar with “unworthiness” said, “YOU CAN’T! What do you know about creating a silent retreat?”

But right next door, I heard this whisper of possibility that said, “SAY YES!”

I followed that whisper, and we created a wildly successful silent retreat together! In fact, it was so successful, we decided to host the same retreat this year… 

Until she called and said, “Kathie, I can’t do it this year. Can you do it without me?”

And here I was at another crossroads… I could choose judgement, self-doubt, and despair. Or, I could choose to be present in the void of possibility.

And here’s what I know: There is POSSIBILITY in the void! 

I could cancel the event, I could host it alone, I could find another partner, etc. The point is, I had options.

Now - staying in the void was painful, because I had to feel my visceral fear and deep sadness. But here’s what I know… 

If you stay in the void long enough, the possibilities show up!

I quickly knew exactly who I wanted to work with (shoutout to Laurie Gyurko!) - and since we partnered together, our creative flow has aligned in ways I can barely explain. 

There’s this magnetic vibration that’s supporting our work together. 

Here’s my lesson for you: Yoga tells us that we have a CHOICE at every crossroads:

• We can lean into what’s familiar. (For many of us, what’s familiar is self-doubt, unworthiness, sadness, anger, and total collapse.) 

• Or we can lean into what’s unfamiliar and be PRESENT in the void. And this is where soul-aligned possibilities show up!

What happens when you follow your heart is, TRUTH reigns. And with that comes JOY.

If you’d like to join me for a silent retreat this October 23-25 in Columbus, Ohio, head to BalancedOwlYoga.com/workshops to sign up for “Creating A Joyful Life In Our ‘New Normal!’”

Until next time, Kathie