It's Sunday morning, and the weather is beautiful. Spring is finally here. I am feeling inspired. So much has happened over the past several months, and I am finally having the chance to sit down and reflect.
I am approaching another big transition in life. I am graduating from a nursing doctoral program in May, and I recently graduated from a 200 hour yoga teacher training. Needless to say, I've been busy.
I regret not writing about my yoga training experience as it was happening. It was a beautiful adventure, and allowed me to fulfill a longstanding desire to become a yoga instructor. I will share the deepest, most joyful experience and realization that I had during this training. I was reminded of the beauty of practicing a yogic lifestyle. It is not as hard as it seems! Yogic lifestyle, even here in America, is a simple lifestyle that is largely focused on cultivating something deeper. The beauty lies in the fact that yoga philosophy provides for us the structure to live this type of life! It taught me and reminded me that spiritual life engages the soul, the mind, and the body, and that none of these aspects are mutually exclusive. Sometimes I compartmentalize spiritual life and material life, but that does not have to be the case.
Below is a great site that outlines the 8 limbs of yoga. The first two limbs break down even further. My teachers taught me that these limbs, the Yamas and Niyamas, go into more depth about how to relate to the external world, and internal world, respectively. These 8 limbs provide very practical values and principles to imbibe. Don't let the Sanskrit words intimidate you!! :) If we slowly begin to cultivate these into our lives, we will notice a consciousness shift. I have! The best part is that it does not require us to renounce everything and move out into the wilderness - we can work these into our daily lives!
8 Limbs of Yoga
Please check it out!
