I’ve been off track in my practice lately. Thrown off track by life, decisions, moving across the country – again – this time on my own. Back to NY and back to a less stable but, ultimately, more promising place.
This weekend, I’m heading up to Kripalu to help a dear teacher of mine with a workshop she’s leading. It’s an almost unbelievable opportunity as I know I need this time to immerse myself in yoga and, what’s more, shift my focus to others instead of myself.
In the meantime, I’ve been poking around the interweb for yogic inspiration. I know it usually comes on the mat, or on a walk, or at least out in nature. But sometimes the couch is where it’s at. Thank goodness for yoga blogs.
I found julie lee yoga through Daily Cup of Yoga.
(Don’t be put off by posts like “5 steps to beautiful skin.” Daily Cup offers some amount of insight everyday – some days it’s the perfect inspiration and other days it’s not for me. But to have an everyday resource for inspiration is wonderful.)
Julia Lee, on the other hand, is a new read for me. But I’m pretty sure it’s going to become a daily read as well. Inspirational quotes and stories of her own journey. Part of me wonders why I even bother with this on-again-off-again blogging when people like Julie are out there putting her fingers to the keys everyday, and her body on the mat.
Despite my inner gremlins, I wanted to share some of her inspiration here. This post in particular struck because it asks what living yoga really is.
In a perfect world (or in a world where money grows from trees), yoga would be freely accessible to all. There would be no such thing as $100 spandex pants or exorbitant yearly pass prices. Unfortunately, the world is not a perfect place – nor does money grow from trees…
I realized that my definition of yoga had been tainted and warped by the influence of the modern world. Yoga isn’t only about sporting the top-of-the-line clothing and accessories, and studying with “yoga celebrities”. That’s probably the worst interpretation of yoga there is. Yoga is a lifestyle, a conscious decision to make the world around you a better place. Just because I practice to online videos on a mat in my room doesn’t make it any less worthwhile. I am living my yoga when I do kind things, when I act with mindfulness and intention. Each day I embrace the true principles of the yamas and niyamas, I am engaging myself in the practice of yoga. So what did I learn today? I learned yoga doesn’t equate to dollar signs, and that I can be a true yogini after all.
martinis and mantras 