Are your goals your own? Finding clarity in the storm of others’ opinions.
Often in life, we find ourselves feeling misaligned. A feeling that something is wrong deep inside of our gut. This feeling can be so big that we can’t ignore it, but most commonly it’s small and easy to push down time after time. We continue to move forward as if it isn’t there at all. As yogis, our practice pushes us to stop ignoring that feeling of misalignment and to find clarity, because clarity is the first step to resolution. Those little feelings keep coming up because they are begging to be resolved. They’re asking us to live a life that is aligned with our own goals and wants and desires and not live according to someone else’s plan for us.
We live in a society that puts so much pressure on us to conform. We feel it on all sides from social media, friends, family members, bosses, and sometimes even strangers on the street. We are told to look a certain way and to achieve certain milestones at certain times. If we do all of these things at all of these times then, and only then, will we be successful. The problem with this is that we aren’t all the same. We are not all meant for the same road, and we aren’t all ready to achieve things at the same point in our timelines.
When we come to our mats we begin to get a glimpse of our individual paths. We learn that each of our bodies are different and beautiful and perfect. We learn that each body that comes to a pose will come to it differently and that we are ever changing day-to-day. As we practice, we become mindful and clear about how our body wants to come into each pose and we begin to let go of the idea of “perfect”. We begin to listen and discover the path that’s unique to us. The gift is that we can take that mindfulness off of our mats to achieve alignment and clarity in all parts of our lives. You can begin to notice that twinge in your gut when something feels wrong, and utilize your yoga tools to take a deeper look. You may just find that feeling of misalignment is because you are letting someone else make your decisions for you.
Finding clarity won’t come quickly. It is a constant practice just like the asana we do on our mat, but it is a valuable practice. Staying in tune with our gut feelings is dependent on beginning a steady meditation practice. Only in the silence can we see our path and not the path that was laid out by others. It will take courage to follow your truth once it becomes clear to you. The same voices that were there before will get louder, they will push back. There will be moments of doubt and fear. There is true power in living life for yourself, in your own time, with your own rules. Go, and be messy, beautiful, individuals shining a light for others to see so that they might begin to find the clarity they need to follow their own path as well.
-Katie Mitchell
One Response
Oh so needed this! After years of listening to external cues about self this yoga journey is teaching me to listen and trust the internal cues. Laying down the habit of compare and contrast has been a bit confusing as I have struggled to trust my own inner voice.