As we move into the holiday season, the new theme for our weekly newsletter is the
GIFTS OF YOGA
. We invite you this month to take a moment to reflect on your journey with yoga in terms of its gifts, no matter how you choose to understand the meaning of the word
gift
.
A frequently made distinction is that between
presents
and
presence
. And for me, it is the gift of
presence
for which I am most grateful. When we shift onto our mats, we have no choice but to be present.
One of my favorite teachers once said that our bodies offer us this lesson of presence most powerfully on the mat: while our minds tend to wander into the past and future, our bodies cannot do that. Rather, they experience the present moment (I am not saying that our bodies do not carry our pasts, but that they express those histories in the current moment). We learn to listen more closely to the wisdom of our bodies and breath as we practice yoga. This is not easy – and the lessons, as we turn in and pay attention, can be remarkably challenging. But little by little, we make our way.
Through my yoga, I practice being present. I practice being present for myself, in my day to day routine, for those that I love, and as a means to give back to our world.
– Alana
