Awaken to Your Own Truth

"In yoga, truth is not something that you learn, like knowledge, 

but is something that is revealed, like wisdom."

Notes on what is being revealed to me during my intense 60 day Bikram Yoga challenge:

~My physical body is much more capable of exactly listening to my mind than I could have imagined~

~My lack of being able to focus solely on one thing is a habit I've created over many years and it will not just go away after a few days of practicing moving meditation (i.e. Yoga) so I must trust that, like the body can be trained to walk differently or correct a slouch through repeated practice, my mind will slowly learn to focus as I continue to direct it in my practice~

~Frustration is like a circle, it gets me nowhere except more frustrated~

~I worry about ridiculous little things way too much~

~I cannot change a person and as much as I care for another, I must trust that they will find the way in their own time~

~Muscle memory is so much more powerful than I'd imagined.  Going deeper in a pose each time, creates an opening in the physical body that is literally remembered, in order to get back to that depth the next time~

~The energy of others, especially in the Yoga room during practice, is incredibly intense and was meant to be shared.  Feeding off one another's energy makes a big difference during a class~

~When I think I can't possibly keep going, I do~

~...Mind over matter- always~

~I am what I think~

~The BREATH, aaah the breath, is the most powerful force in the body.  It can calm me, steady my focus, energize me, and connect me back with the natural rhythm of my body~

~Beginning my day with Yoga helps me set myself up for a beautiful day~

~The intense backbends and forward bends in the Bikram series can envoke some serious physical reactions because of the amount of energy that is being moved around and/or released in the body: old memories, intense happiness, intense sadness, tears, anxiety, intense calm~

~Letting myself experience these emotions is exactly what my mind and body want and need at that exact moment~

~My body is a good to me and knows what is right.  I listen to it and trust its advice~

~Low, slow flow: deeper breaths energize, revitalize, and relax everything in my body~

~Learning to take deeper, longer breaths (or learning how to really breathe again) during my practice, helps me to do the same throughout my entire day~

~This challenge is actually harder than I thought it would be, mentally and physically~

~I am breaking everything down so that I can build it back up the right way~

~We are not isolated individuals, but share a connection with everything that is~

~My practice is not just about my practice... it is making everything in my life better as well~

~The more I sincerely practice, the less anxious I am and the more I can enjoy just being~

"In truth it matters less what we do in practice than how we do it and why we do it."