Bienvenido! Welcome!
Sankalpa - संकल्पः
As we begin a new year, no matter if we choose to make a resolution or not, we tend to wonder what this year will bring for us. Maybe we might be curious if it will be a good or bad year. Let’s be honest, we’ve all had a bad year at some point. So what a better way to start than to ask ourselves questions and see what tools we can use to help us on this journey of life.
Hi! My name is Kiera. I love yoga, of course. 😂 Yes, I am one of gazillions of yoga teachers out in the world. I don’t go out of my way to push anyone to take from me, it’s not something that I align with. If given the opportunity that you would want to learn from me than I am honored and excited to share everything that I can with you. As someone who is very interested in diving deep into “Who am I?” and continually wanting to clarify the gap between spiritual science and science, I hope I can offer as much as I can to you so that you can have as many tools to eliminate suffering. Through that practice then we are less tied up in the “me” and more liberated to embody bliss.
Yoga for Beginner Questions: Where should you begin when it comes to yoga? Have you ever wondered how to get started without looking silly?
Yoga Questions for any Practitioner: What do you want from yoga or a yoga class? Do you have any goals or intentions?
I’m going to do my best to be very honest with you in the blog. Most people still worry about what they look like, even after years and years of practice, in a yoga class. For my beginners, I know you don’t want to look silly. The only way to do that is to study the poses before you go. Sometimes it’s great to look at others because they help you see what you should be doing, instead of practicing the wrong side or pose. Even the most advanced yoga students can even fall out of a pose or not hear the directions clearly. Yoga isn’t about looking perfect or like anyone else. Start with feeling the movements in your body. There are different ways to do that. One is moving with your breath by slowing it down, being very focused on the breath while moving allows you to bring more of your attention inwards towards the physical and subtle body. Another is by closing your eyes, I know that isn’t for everyone. For people who have issues with balance because of a physical aliment or inner ear imbalance then it can be difficult. Some people also have trauma they carry around with them, therefore closing their eyes can feel too much. I can talk about that more in another post.
Ultimately, my dear yogis, you have to practice not comparing yourself to anyone around you. You can do this in and outside of yoga. In time, leading to the fact that practice doesn’t end when you are off your mat. It is one of the hardest practices to get over for a long period of time, even as someone progresses with the practice of asanas. To compare is to admit there is separation, and separation is not yoga. Yoga is Union. If you are to focus on that simple lesson, apply it to everything in life, then you will always be finding yourself in the root of practice. The root of yoga.
As you embark deeper into the new year, may your intentions- sankalpa (संकल्पः), may they not be weighed down with desires, may they not be compared to anyone that is external from your truest form. Whatever you have chosen to embark upon, may it be from a place that comes deeply within and do not concern yourself with what remains on the surface. Dive deeply into life and find your greatest adventure! Swim in every moment given to you and don’t take any second for granted, for it is a gift.