The art and practice of Yoga has become one of my favorite pastimes. Yet it is more than just a hobby or a work out that keeps me in shape. Yoga has brought, joy, light, strength, and healing to my life. At the beginning of my yoga journey it was easy to look at yogi instagramers and instantly compare my early beginners stages to those of people who had been practicing for years upon years. It was frustrating and made it really hard to continue on a consistent basis. Not to mention just beginning at all was seemingly impossible for me. I started practicing yoga with hardly any type of flexibility, a back that hurt with almost any physical activity, and a body that felt to be completely shot after four years of collegiate athletics. Yet something within me allowed me to keep pushing through it. I would still wake up each morning and each night and do my practice because I wanted so dearly to grow stronger, become empowered, and hopefully bring more healing to my life. Now looking back I am thankful for my perseverance through those tough times because I have come a long way, however looking at other yogis I feel like I haven’t come anywhere close to the “ideal yogi.”
Taking a moment and reflecting on this, it sounds so silly to compare myself to people who may have been practicing years and years before I even knew what Yoga was, or even to compare myself to anyone else’s journey for that matter. My journey is just that MY journey and it should be free of any comparison and negative critique. The point of yoga is to reach your level and live in a place of freedom and healing.
A part from this ,how often are we comparing our own journey’s through life to others that aren’t living the same life as we are. It’s as though we try and reach something that we will never acquire because everyones personal journey is no other than their own, so we can never replicate it no matter how hard we try. Your journey is beautiful, it is full of twists and turns, ups and downs, but regardless it is still yours and that leaves no room for comparison. So I say this still, not coming from a place of having it all figured out because, I don’t I’m still trying to figure it out myself, but from a place of hope of what the world might look like if we embrace our own journey and even through the hard times we look for the collateral beauty that exists. I’m a mess, I don’t have it all together, and sometimes I fall flat on my face but I refuse to give up because my journey is beautiful, unique, and unable to replicate. I see you, I see your light, and I see your journey. I believe your journey is worth fighting for. Don’t dim your light. The world deserves to see it shine.
Peace and Blessings,
K.L.M.
