Building a temple of the body is not a program of self-improvement, a set of precise instructions, a promise of happiness or a guarantee that you will get stronger, thinner or more attractive. Building a temple of the body is, in fact, a call to a life of spiritual practice. ~ Christina Sell, My Body Is A Temple

Part II: Yoga as a path requires practice.

Often it is this aspect of weaving our yoga into our everyday schedule that brings up all of our resistance, all of our reasons why we can’t practice. Yet, no matter how many excuses we have to skip our pranayama practice or to avoid our mat, in some way we will have to find the inner resources to work through obstacles if we are going to continue our sadhana.

In My Body Is A Temple, Yoga As A Path to Wholeness, Christina Sell discusses the path of practice, and the ways in which yoga gives us tools to work through the complexity of our lives while accessing the teacher within. In this second part of our interview (see part I here), we discuss resistance in practice, accessing the inner teacher, and the darshan of the heart.

Which self are we being true to? Are we nourishing our authentic self, the core of who we are, or just the ego and personality? How can we make our practice a loving act?

While the journey of yoga, inevitably, involves an encounter with resistance, when we navigate the world through the lens of practice, connected to the inner teacher and anchored in the teachings (Dharma), we can find our way through resistance when it manifests and come out the other side. Yoga can act as our ship in troubled times, and as our North star in the best of times.

The word darshan can be translated to mean sight or vision.

“Throughout the yoga traditions we find references to the seat of the self being in the heart of each of us. The darshan of the heart, then, means to have an audience with our truest self—that which is at the center of who we are. Darshan of the heart means to see and to be seen from the heart’s truth.”
~ Christina Sell, My Body Is A Temple

Being willing to see and be seen from this place of love and wholeness changes how we move through the world. It changes our expectations of the moment, our point of view, our inner dialogue. It gives us the gift of framing our lives through the lens of love, aiming us towards a life of love, joy, and deep fulfillment in the present moment.

And, as much as the darshan of the heart is essentially and inside job, the darshan of the heart occurs anytime we are willing to see and be seen though the eyes of love. Any time we let others love us, any time we choose a loving response, we are worshipping at the shrine of the heart.
~ Christina Sell, My Body Is A Temple

Deep bows to Christina for for helping make this series happen!

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A little more about Christina Sell:

(Photo: Kelly Sell)

Christina Sell has been practicing yoga since 1991. She is the author of Yoga From the Inside Out: Making Peace with Your Body Through Yoga, and My Body is a Temple: Yoga as a Path to Wholeness. Christina is the 2012 Art of Asana columnist for Yoga International Magazine and a regular contributor to Origin Magazine. She is a faculty member on Yogaglo, which provides online global access to yogic wisdom. Known for her passion, clarity and creativity, Christina’s classes are challenging, inspiring and dedicated to helping people of all ages experience the joys of yoga practice and conscious living. Christina is the cofounder of the School of Yoga and offers workshops, trainings and seminars locally, nationally and internationally. She is committed to bringing traditional practices and teachings to modern life. Christina is a devoted student of Western Baul master, Lee Lozowick and credits his Influence as the spiritual inspiration behind her life and work. For more information about Christina, please visit her online here and here

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Editor: Andrea B.

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