—the yoga way of life
Recently I completed a year long journey becoming a Mindful Yoga teacher. As part of our training, we had to write an article. The training was so much more than becoming a qualified yoga instructor. It truly helped me to embody and expand my consciousness, realising that this beautiful life we have, filled with love, joy, abundance, heartbreak and sadness is all so temporary. As on the mat, so off the mat. As above, so below. As within, so without.
It truly is a way of being, a way of living life in deep connection to our hearts.
“Yoga does not seek to change the individual, rather it allows the natural state of total health and integration in each of us to become a reality”. – William J. D. Doran
“How we do anything is how we do everything — yoga is a great practice for this."
—Shari Ingleton
Yoga is a way of life. Not only is it how we show up in our mat that matters, it also stretches far beyond the edges of our mat – seemingly out into our lives, infiltrating every layer of our being, our connection to our outer and inner worlds.
What I have been so beautifully reminded of through this journey of learning to live the yogic way, is that life can be so simple, so challenging and that it is all in fact, so temporary.
“How we do anything is how we do everything” really does matter and life gets to be that simple if we can live life from this place.
On the mat, off the mat.
The way we show up matters.
The way we move through our challenges and meet our edges, matters.
The way we purify and cleanse our body and mind, matters.
It matters much more than I ever realised. Yoga isn’t just about moving our body and feeling flexible and well stretched, it is helping us to embody so much more than that. Physically, yoga is an amazing practice to help our bodies feel nurtured and nourished, stretched and aligned.
The benefits however, stretch far beyond the physical. We are making space in our minds, bodies, hearts and souls by releasing what no longer serves us, letting go of the old to have space for more joy, love, peace, abundance — all the beautiful things in life to find us, to have a space to land in our lives.
The more we practice yoga, the more we notice the restraints and the observants playing out in our lives.
When I say restraints, I am refereeing the five Yamas, which is the first limb of the Eight Limbs of Yoga:
- Ahimsa {non-violence, compassion}
- Satya {truthfulness}
- Asteya {non-stealing}
- Brahmacharya {intimate connection / energy conservation}
- Aparigraha {neutralising desire to acquire / hoard}
The five Yamas are inviting us to do a stocktake in all areas of our lives, honestly and truthfully seeing how we are we living true to each of these areas. How we interact with others and the world.
They are inviting us to shine a light on anything that may need our attention to allow us to move through life with my lightness, freedom and compassion, both for ourselves, situations and others that we encounter.
The Yamas are inviting us to take stock, so we may make changes and space to be able to live our lives with much more compassion and truth, from a place of integrity, connection, investing our energy wisely and understanding that what we have does not equal who we are and let go of anything holding us back. Yamas are focusing on the outward facing – teaching kindness, truth, respect, balance and freedom.
The Niyama’s are the second limb of the Eight Limbs of Yoga and they are related to our internal disciplines, our personal practices for purification, self-cultivation and spiritual growth. Niyamas are inward practices.
They are inviting us, in essence to purify, satisfy, transform, reveal and connect. The Niyama’s form a framework for us to live with much greater inner harmony, resilience and spiritual alignment.
The Yama’s and Niyama’s compliment each other so beautifully. The Yama’s set the foundation for living ethically and peacefully with others and the Niyama’s deepen our personal connection, growth and spiritual alignment.
Yama’s have a way of clearing space outside while the Niyama’s cultivate peace within, giving us a beautiful frame work and guide for inner and outer harmony within our lives.
Both on the mat and off the mat.
How we do anything is how we do everything, so as above, so is below.
A beautiful and aligned way to live our lives, from our hearts and share the brightest and most beautiful version of self with world.
Yoga is a way of life, not just an hour on our mats.
I can highly recommend The Mindful Yoga School if you are interested in diving deeper into your yoga teacher training. It was so much more than I expected and everything that I needed. Tell Erin that Shari sent you xx
I am hosting weekly Restore by the River Mindful Yoga Experiences at the incredible Home of Movement in Rivervale every Friday. You can book in here if you would like to join us.
Sending so much love xxx
