Challengers, Week 5 – A note from Alice…

Chances are that at this point in your 35 day challenge, you’ve experienced this journey like any other. Rarely is there a straight, easy path, but rather one that twists and turns, has peaks and valleys, light and shadow. Yes, yoga can be wonderful. Yes, yoga can feel great. Yes, yoga can bring more peace and joy. AND, yoga can also be tough!

I’m not just talking about feeling some tightness in your hamstrings or even the challenge of making space in your schedule to practice each day. I’m talking about the really tough stuff – the yoga of life. The pain of a heart break. The despair of losing a loved one. The ‘ugly’ qualities about you that you don’t like rearing their heads at all the ‘wrong’ moments. The dark places of shame and sadness that can leave us feeling utterly alone. The fear that others will see our vulnerability. The shake of not knowing what to do when you land on your mat and all you want to do is cry.

The yogic experience is not an easy one. Nor is it for the faint of heart. To be a yogi does not mean that your life is full of rainbows and sunshine all the time. To be a yogi is  to be real. To allow authenticity to surface.  To take responsibility for your life and your actions. And love yourself so fiercely that you are willing to burn through any amount of discomfort for your own freedom. That being ‘happy’ has nothing to do with external circumstance. It doesn’t even have to do with the number of smiles that grace your face each day or how many hours you spend on your mat. It’s about cultivating an endless well of self love and being deeply devoted to your highest Self.

In your practice this week, I invite you to sit with this quote:

‘Wouldn’t it be powerful
if you fell in love with yourself so deeply that
you would do just about anything
if you knew it would make you happy?
This is precisely how much life loves you and
wants you to nurture yourself.
The deeper you love yourself,
the more the universe will affirm your worth.
Then you can enjoy a lifelong love affair
that brings you the richest fulfillment from inside out.’
~ Alan Cohen

See you on the path,
Alice Hong
www.alignyoga.ca