The Journey Inward

"Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakes." 

~Carl Jung

Aristotle said "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom." Each time you come to your yoga mat, you reunite with a little bit more of your true self.  When you come to your practice, take the time to notice how your body, your mind, and your spirit feel. Observe what is going on inside - how each pose feels, what changes you notice when your settle into your savasana. This inward observation of oneself is the fourth of the Niyamas, or active observances of the Yoga Sutras, and is known as Svadhyaya, meaning "study of one's self." The self-awareness that you cultivate during your yoga practice is the foundation of Svadhyaya. Through this practice, we open the door to self-acceptance and self-compassion. We open the door to acceptance and compassion for all that exists around us, and we open the door to true wisdom - enlightenment.

To fully draw inward, you must remember that your yoga practice is internal. Think of yourself as alone in your practice. Whether you are packed in elbow to elbow, or by yourself in the room, you are there with nothing more than your body and your breath. There is no judgement, no comparison, no perfect or imperfect pose. Let the rest of the space fade away, look within and reunite with, honor, and love yourself. It is only when we truly come to know ourselves, when everything on the exterior drops away that we are truly happy and at peace.

"As you peel it back, in the heart of nothing, that is love. You are what you are seeking. Life is a set up so that each of us can actually see in ourselves the truth for ourselves. What gets taken away are all the exterior means we thought we wanted love to come to us. You have the choice to notice the perfect set up to see love is exactly what you are."

~Adyashanti 

The fifth of the Niyamas, Ishvara Pranidhana, is the devotion, and surrender of your practice to a higher power. This is where we give ourselves over to something greater than ourselves.  Where we dissolve our ego and disengage with our self-determined identification. When we let go and surrender our thoughts, our desires, our egoic nature and give ourselves over to a higher power, we can reach past our attachments; attachments to belongings, attachments to a perfect practice or pose, attachments to what we think our lives should be like, and surrender to something greater. Our yoga practice thus becomes sacred and full of grace.

“Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it.” 

~Ray Bradbury.