It’s the season of love.
That used to mean it was also a season of despair, if you didn't have a Valentine's date.
Despair not. Let me explain why.
So many of us are unmarried these days that, happily, alternative ideas of Valentine's love are growing. You don't need to have a partner these days to feel loved. (Though a good match is a wonderful thing -- cherish it if you have it!)
Where does love start? Does it start with others approving of you? With your yoga teacher? Does it start with music? In your head? With your friends?
Not really. It is great to love all those things, and feel the love in your yoga studio, with your gaming group, or in some other gathering, but we all know where the love has to be in yoga class, and all day long – right there in the middle of you.
In the same way we practice good posture and physical poses with our bodies in yoga class, those classes give us the space and time to take a look at how our thoughts and emotions are lining up. How's your emotional posture? Give it a checkup. And remind yourself to practice love. Be kind to yourself. You deserve it!
There's a warm, delicious bubble that happens in yoga practice. Rarely, it might happen with a group of people in a room (such as in yoga teacher training or a retreat, when you've all been there together many days in a row, many hours in a day), but more often, in fact, nearly every good yoga class with a teacher that suits you, it happens on your own mat. It's similar to that after-love-making feeling: warmth, well-being, acceptance, deliciousness. Your blood is thrumming and your heart feels full. That's love.
And: hint! If you don't have a lover, get yourself to yoga class so you can have that feeling too. (As I have said before, you may need to shop around a little to find a teacher and a studio that can do this for you. If you don't jive with a certain teacher, don't blame yoga, and don't keep going back to "try to make it work" -- just find another and try again.)
In the "real world," we are taught to judge ourselves. To compare our performances to others, to strive to be different, to look up to someone who's better. In yoga, it's the opposite. We learn how to love and nurture ourselves, in a way that's not at all selfish. Giving ourselves that hour or two on the mat fills us up. It’s like a love energy fuel station. And then you walk out into the world and radiate that love to everyone.
Love radiates to your family and friends, as you’re more patient than you are without your yoga practice. It’s easier to be gentle with others when you’ve been practicing love on your mat.
When you do enough yoga, you sometimes move beyond patient to genuinely accepting. Accepting of yourself, because you know you are doing your best for yourself. Accepting of others, because you start to realize that there’s no point in trying not to accept them. It’s just easier to accept, so you do. And what more loving action is there, than to accept?
Your love fuel gets spilled around on the street when you smile that peaceful, I’m-feelin-good yoga smile to yourself, and strangers catch you smiling and feel good themselves.
And when you set the intention, you can really amp it up and beam it at everybody, because you understand about the heart: your own, and others', and how good you’re feeling, and how easy it is to shine that light energy out at others. Your mouth may smile, but your energy just positively beams after a good yoga class.
So filling up with love fuel on your yoga mat, or through telling yourself that you do know you're good at what you do, is not selfish. It’s just great for the world. And... benefit: you're way more likely to attract a partner when you stoke yourself up like this.
You might notice it being warmer in certain spots or darker in other spots. That’s fine – that’s real. Just let the light pulse in your chest and shine into whatever corner it’s curious about. If you want to, you can use the light to "scrub" the dark spots clean. Breathe out any black specks.
When you’re ready, let the light grow gradually bigger, until it’s an egg shape all around you. Rest in there for a few minutes.
You’ve just cleaned your aura, and you’ll shine brighter all day. People will notice. You will see this by their reactions to you -- more welcoming, more open. Try it!
Hint: If you’re not practiced with white light meditation yet, you might want to kick start it by beginning in a nice bright sunbeam.
Yoga version of this first appeared last year at Dear L'il Devas: http://www.dearlildevas.com/blogs/yoga/35729027-your-love-energy-fuel-station
That used to mean it was also a season of despair, if you didn't have a Valentine's date.
Despair not. Let me explain why.
So many of us are unmarried these days that, happily, alternative ideas of Valentine's love are growing. You don't need to have a partner these days to feel loved. (Though a good match is a wonderful thing -- cherish it if you have it!)
Where does love start? Does it start with others approving of you? With your yoga teacher? Does it start with music? In your head? With your friends?
Not really. It is great to love all those things, and feel the love in your yoga studio, with your gaming group, or in some other gathering, but we all know where the love has to be in yoga class, and all day long – right there in the middle of you.
In the same way we practice good posture and physical poses with our bodies in yoga class, those classes give us the space and time to take a look at how our thoughts and emotions are lining up. How's your emotional posture? Give it a checkup. And remind yourself to practice love. Be kind to yourself. You deserve it!
There's a warm, delicious bubble that happens in yoga practice. Rarely, it might happen with a group of people in a room (such as in yoga teacher training or a retreat, when you've all been there together many days in a row, many hours in a day), but more often, in fact, nearly every good yoga class with a teacher that suits you, it happens on your own mat. It's similar to that after-love-making feeling: warmth, well-being, acceptance, deliciousness. Your blood is thrumming and your heart feels full. That's love.
And: hint! If you don't have a lover, get yourself to yoga class so you can have that feeling too. (As I have said before, you may need to shop around a little to find a teacher and a studio that can do this for you. If you don't jive with a certain teacher, don't blame yoga, and don't keep going back to "try to make it work" -- just find another and try again.)
In the "real world," we are taught to judge ourselves. To compare our performances to others, to strive to be different, to look up to someone who's better. In yoga, it's the opposite. We learn how to love and nurture ourselves, in a way that's not at all selfish. Giving ourselves that hour or two on the mat fills us up. It’s like a love energy fuel station. And then you walk out into the world and radiate that love to everyone.
Love radiates to your family and friends, as you’re more patient than you are without your yoga practice. It’s easier to be gentle with others when you’ve been practicing love on your mat.
When you do enough yoga, you sometimes move beyond patient to genuinely accepting. Accepting of yourself, because you know you are doing your best for yourself. Accepting of others, because you start to realize that there’s no point in trying not to accept them. It’s just easier to accept, so you do. And what more loving action is there, than to accept?
Your love fuel gets spilled around on the street when you smile that peaceful, I’m-feelin-good yoga smile to yourself, and strangers catch you smiling and feel good themselves.
And when you set the intention, you can really amp it up and beam it at everybody, because you understand about the heart: your own, and others', and how good you’re feeling, and how easy it is to shine that light energy out at others. Your mouth may smile, but your energy just positively beams after a good yoga class.
So filling up with love fuel on your yoga mat, or through telling yourself that you do know you're good at what you do, is not selfish. It’s just great for the world. And... benefit: you're way more likely to attract a partner when you stoke yourself up like this.
Try this white light energy meditation to really amp up your love beams:
Close your eyes and visualize a big ball of bright white light in your chest. Just let it sit there and feel good, pulsing.
You might notice it being warmer in certain spots or darker in other spots. That’s fine – that’s real. Just let the light pulse in your chest and shine into whatever corner it’s curious about. If you want to, you can use the light to "scrub" the dark spots clean. Breathe out any black specks.
When you’re ready, let the light grow gradually bigger, until it’s an egg shape all around you. Rest in there for a few minutes.
You’ve just cleaned your aura, and you’ll shine brighter all day. People will notice. You will see this by their reactions to you -- more welcoming, more open. Try it!
Hint: If you’re not practiced with white light meditation yet, you might want to kick start it by beginning in a nice bright sunbeam.
Yoga version of this first appeared last year at Dear L'il Devas: http://www.dearlildevas.com/blogs/yoga/35729027-your-love-energy-fuel-station
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