If You Let It…

Though we all become involved in the practice of yoga for different reasons, I think it’s safe to say that each and every person who decides to embark on the yogic path does so from a desire to grow, develop and transform.

This decision often creates a shift in our well-being, the well-being of those in our lives and potentially even of the world at large.

Without the ambition to grow, our world would be stagnant, our minds would be stale and our bodies would be stuck.

Thanks to the practice of yoga, we have a solution: Pranayama (breath work) which allows fresh oxygen into the body and the release of stale thoughts and emotions, or toxins, while we move through the asanas (physical practice).

We can shift our energies, lengthening and opening ourselves in the physical body as well as in our hearts and minds. We can detoxify our bodies, calm and steady our minds, and ultimately awaken to the here and now, i.e. the “present.”

Yoga psychology teaches us how to think, and yoga philosophy teaches us what to think.

Both enable us to shift our perspectives to one that is liberated, refreshed, and rejuvenated. They serve as guides through the art of acceptance and letting go.

They allow the gift of awakening to the present moment.

What I have been reminded of recently in my own physical practice, and in my application of yoga off the mat and into the world, is the fact that growth is inevitable.

It is part of human existence.

Little seeds are planted. We bloom. We grow. We develop into our unique and beautiful selves.

And then we pass, quite possibly, to some exotic afterlife!

Along the way, life happens. And what I have noticed most recently is that the most challenging or painful situations can be the biggest opportunities for growth.

This is how I found yoga–through confusion and a desire to develop and confront the barriers to my personal development.

Through heartache.

What continues to make yoga so interesting to me is the deeper purpose of the practice that lies beneath the physical postures.

Yoga allows me to actualize and recognize my truest essence and the place where I am in life. It lets me confront my vulnerabilities and awakens me to the ego and the huge role it plays in my relationship with myself and others.

Transition in this lifetime is inevitable because, even if we are stuck, everything around us is constantly evolving.

It is up to us to make the choice to swim with the current or to stay put with our toes in the sand.

Change takes courage. Be courageous.

Suzie Blackman is from Bethesda, MD and attended Bethesda Chevy Chase High School, where she played Varsity Field Hockey, Volleyball and Gymnastics. In her time outside of studying and athletics, Suzie also took part for 7 consecutive years in a pre professional dance company, mostly focusing on modern, lyrical, hip-hop, and African, dance genres. Suzie attended college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she studied sociology and psychology. Join Suzie in an elevating, joy filled, detoxifying practice that will ultimately help you to actualize and achieve your full potential: a still and stable mind, and an expansive, receptive and strong, loving heart.

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Editor: James Carpenter

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