Yoga for if you’ve not used ‘it’, lost ‘it’ – and want ‘it’ back – thank you very much.
Your health is just too important to lose…isn’t it?
When people say to me they ‘don’t do yoga’ because they’re not ‘flexible’ it tells me two things.
- They lost something super valuable (flexibility).
- They’re ok with it (they don’t do yoga).
These are both heart-breaking truths that drive me crazy.
Seriously, if you lost £50 you’d at least go look for it, right? Flexibility though? ‘Meh – oh well. ‘Easy come, easy go.’ ‘Strength, don’t need it any more’. ‘Balance, over-rated commodity – I’ll pass’.
Come on…really?
Though we all know the adage ‘use it or lose it’, some of us are:
- Choosing not to use ‘it’ (at least not adequately or appropriately).
- Choosing to believe we won’t lose it (or when we do – we’ll be nearly dead anyway. No biggie).
- Refusing to accept that losing ‘it’ will impact our health, happiness and wellbeing.
- Sticking our fingers in our ears and singing la la la la la.
And just so we’re clear. I’m not just talking about those of us who are spending our days sat at a desk, behind a steering wheel, or on the couch. Even the most athletic and active need to pull their fingers out of their ears for this yogi message.
Why? Because pain, fatigue, strains, backache and injuries are all problems associated with muscle over-use and/or underuse. Your active lifestyle is not necessarily your all-access path to wellbeing.
What is? In my yogi book, it’s awareness.
It’s a big topic so today I want to narrow this conversation down to awareness of purpose and the yoga principle of fulfilling Dharma… and then I’ll give you 3 big takeaways to digest at leisure. (Not the pizza variety 😉 sorry).
Here we go.
Think about this. Every cell, tissue, organ, muscle in your intelligently designed body has a purpose. It has a unique job, a function to perform or a role to play (Dharma).
Your digestive system moves food around, absorbs nutrients and eliminates toxins. Your circulatory system moves blood and oxygen, controls your blood pressure and regulates your heart beat.
When it all works, it works really, well. It just flows. Easy and effortless. No need to think about it. Your creator did an incredible job.
You with me?
So, everything has a purpose (Dharma) and goes about its individual work BUT, the bigger picture here is there’s a much, much bigger PURPOSE at play – that purpose is YOU!
Yes, you heard me. The most essential purpose of everything that makes you YOU, is to support YOU – to keep you alive, vital, healthy and whole. (Wow, yes you are that special and yes that important).
So that’s the big truth of it. Nothing about you is working in isolation. When you move your big toe, a whole series of events and activities had to happen in the mind and body to create that movement.
So, what do you guess happens when anything you got working for you loses its purpose or is hindered from fulfilling its purpose.
Or, to put it another way, what happens when something in the body can no longer do what it was so magnificently designed to do?
I’ll tell you. When that happens, your body goes out of balance, it’s not able to do what it was designed for and your life energy struggles to flow as it should. You don’t function so well and you don’t feel so well.
Of course, that doesn’t have to be your story because one of the first things you can do to is start using your body sufficiently to bring balance back and recreate health. And guess what, yoga has all that covered.
So, let’s wrap this up with the 3 takeaways.
- Yoga is a practice that helps you find the awareness to move and respond in ways that support the purpose of your body.
- Yoga is a practice that makes you aware of the obstacles that might be getting in the way of fulfilling the purpose of your body.
- Yoga is a practice that reminds you of your own greater or higher purpose – that you are here to express your own unique talents and use them to go into the world and support everything and everyone around you.
Get to it yogi friend. The world needs you at your best. Don’t lose a thing, go use it all.
With yogi love
Josie
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P.P.S Please share
How does it feel to think you lost your ability to do something because you neglected an aspect of yourself.
Losing
can feel like ccould be the reason you’re not making it to your mat. The degree to which they’ve not used it and lost it is equal to the belief that yoga
What is your purpose.
Detrainment
Dharma – what’s gone rogue. What’s overused. What’s weak, what’s strong.
Ajna
Being guided in your choices
Connection
Blocked = self-doubt and distrust.
Quieten the voices of others, so you can listen to the sound of your soul
Unique abilities, a way of expressing them.
There are needs for which your talents are suited
When your talents meet with a need – you realise your Dharma and experience flow. Life in dharma is effortless and moves without interference.
Express the purpose for your creation, why you were born, reason for being.
Dharmic actions serve others, and bring benefit to both the giver and receiver.
Yoga is action in accordance with Dharma.