A post shared by Kino MacGregor (@kinoyoga) on Feb 8, 2017 at 4:07am PST

Someone sent me a message saying that they don’t respect me anymore because I post selfies and pictures about beautiful villas.

Then I saw this amazing lotus flower on the ground and I thought, “Like a lotus, we rise up out of the mud.” 

Firstly, this is something about me you can take or leave.

I like to feel beautiful. I like selfies. I do moderate how many selfies I post on my yoga account, but Snapchat and other social media channels are full selfie time for me.

You may also see fashion, nails, hair, food, travel, and a little bit more of my goofy side. But really, what’s wrong with selfies and beautiful villas?

It’s like there is some idea of a yogi that people feel safe with and for whatever reason I just don’t fit in that mold. Even though I have been committed to my practice for nearly two decades, it’s like I’m never good enough to pass some mythic test.

Always an outsider, too flashy to please the purists, too traditional to be fun.

I’m devoted to the inner experience of yoga, but I’m not interested in fitting into a box of what a yogi is or isn’t.

In fact, I’m not interested in putting anyone into any boxes. I’m interested in authenticity. I’m interested in being real. And yes, I’m interested in beauty, like this flower that needs sunshine and warmth to open.

So how about this?

I think we are all flowers just waiting for the sun to shine on us so that we can open our blooms to the world. But if we hide in the mud because someone doesn’t like what they see, well then, that serves no one.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we all loved more than we complained?

Take time today to be someone’s sunshine. Beam a ray of warmth onto their tender heart and watch it open.

~

Author: Kino MacGregor

Image: Author’s own

Editor: Sara Kärpänen