Practice

It’s a story as old as time. Sexual harassment, molestation, assault, rape. The media has been saturated with this news of late, with nearly daily revelations by women (and men) who have come forward and broken the silence. I applaud and thank these individuals. Yet, for every woman who has come forward, there are tens of thousands who remain silent. I, too, have a story. While it is not public, the involved parties, are in the know. Over the years, I have quietly  broken my silence and shared with a number of trusted confidantes.

My message today is about the aftermath. When there is nothing left to say and it’s time to move on. If you follow me on Instagram (@humbleyogini), you may have seen a quote I posted earlier this month

Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting,
it just means we stop carrying the
energy of the past into the present
yung pueblo

I’ll be the first to admit that “letting go” is a difficult concept for me. I seem to have a keen memory for life experiences in which I felt I’ve been wronged. Intellectually, I know that I cannot control the words or actions of other people, rather, I can only control my own reaction to others. For me, this is easier said than done. I find myself coming back to this quote of late, as its message resonates with me, providing me with a definition of “letting go” that I feel I can put into practice.

Naturally, this brings me back to yoga. During yoga teacher training, we learned that “where focus goes, energy flows.” Prana, the energy that exists around the physical body, moves with the breath. The quality and depth of the inhale directly impacts the quality of the energy around us. Yogic breathing techniques, or pranayama, are designed to improve and expand prana.

Another yoga teacher training lesson – “All I need is within me now!” reminds me that I truly have what I need to enable me to let go – my yoga practice – through the pranayama and asanas, the breathing and postures, I have the power to improve the flow of energy through me and around me. In other word, yoga is a practice of letting go. The key word here – PRACTICE. A regular, consistent, lifetime of practice.

I am practicing.

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