Why Do You Practice Yoga??
Martha McAlpine ~ Kundalini & Radiant Yoga Master Teacher, TRIBE’s Modern Elder
Why practice?
Getting started I face my hesitations, my reluctance, my inertia - Maybe later. I have so much else to do… How will it make any difference? I’ll do it tomorrow. Daily or regular practice of any kind for me is a means of familiarizing myself with the reasons why not to act. And these interfere with far more than my practice. They interfere with conversations I want to have, projects to begin or complete, the simple act of preparing good meals for myself or my family. Getting started in my practice gets me started in my life.
Once established, my practice puts me in motion. Motion makes for mobility, possibility. Movement demand all and promotes heat, choice, refinement. Over time I find I function better - my digestion, joints, breath, schedule, patience, integrity with my word, sleep, all of it has a momentum that can be directed once in motion. I am more even-keeled with less stopping and starting; there is flow to my actions and words and thoughts. The circumstances of the day rise and fall around me and I have a steadfast perseverance and perspective. And I have serenity in the thought that there is somewhere to put the day’s distress and a place to inhabit/embody my successes.
Practice is the emotional digestion of what I have encountered. It helps me feel more clearly. It sifts and sorts and releases so I may start again. It is a form of human hygiene, an emotional washing of the hands or brushing of the teeth that promotes wellbeing and prevents ongoing illness harbored in old patterns of mind and body.
Over time, with regularity, with dedication and devotion, I can stabilize my function. My sense of myself shifts over time to a deepening of trust and encouragement rather than anxiety and doubt. I am less reluctant overall and quicker to repair. I am aware of my personal versions of disregulation such as snapishness, impatience, critical inner dialogue and familiar with modalities that will return me to balance like pausing to be still, going for a walk or a bike ride, being with friends, writing it out, etc.
Time on my mat as regularly as possible gives a view into my inner world so that I know who I am from day to day, and how I can change from moment to moment, posture to posture. I realize there is a stillness in me that is sweet and wise and courageous. Familiar with pausing, I use it everywhere as needed. These rewards call me back day after day.
I teach yoga as a daily practice because my life has capsized more than once in large and small ways and this is what puts me upright again and give me courage to try again.
There is magic here. And the closer I am to it, the more I know of it, the more it knows of me, the more magic we make together and the dance lasts a lifetime. It is personal, durable, remarkable, and available to all of us. Join in.