This new year brings with it new energies, challenges, and ways to engage with our lives moving forward! We're two weeks into the year and many of us are already getting into the groove of things. Some of us, tackling new year's resolutions, are starting new activities, changing things up, or trying new things. Others may be taking on a new challenge at work, processing heavy emotions, or finding ways through life obstacles. Wherever we find ourselves, we have the ability to move forward with the aid of a healthy yoga practice.
Yoga can be a complimentary practice to any activity we do in our lives. Whether it's something physical: like going to the gym, picking up a new outdoor hobby, or recuperating after a long day of work, or something mental: like processing heavy emotions, building your personal will, or overcoming challenging obstacles. Our yoga practice is not limited to only what's done on the mat, it can expand into our daily lives, giving us strength, flexibility, and necessary perspective when facing obstacles and challenges.
We have many different tools that we can use in our yoga practice when necessary: There's Asana, from Yin to Ashtanga, to relieve tightness, and improve flexibility in the body; Pranayama, from Ujayi to Breath of Fire, to direct energy throughout the body, and calm the mind; and Perspective, from our daily lives to philosophy & mythology, that provides self-awareness, empathy, and a sense of community.
Yogic philosophy can be a wellspring of wisdom, and there are many benefits from engaging with mythology. Take Ganesha, the Elephant-headed son of Shiva(Consciousness) and Parvati(Creation & Shakti), who rides a nimble mouse and is known in Hindu mythology as the remover of obstacles. He is large and wise enough to tackle many daunting problems, and his mouse is nimble enough to move through any crack or crevice, and chew through any binding. Together they represent the ability to move through, around, or over any obstacle in their path. Many Yogis find it useful at times to embody that idea and energy of Ganesha in their lives or during an asana practice, in order to invoke the removal of some obstacles they may face. As a certain teacher often says, "We are every character in the story".
If you find that practice interesting and would like to learn more, we dive deeper into the substance of our yoga practice as well as yoga philosophy in our 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Course. We also will be covering anatomy and alignment, as well as complimentary practices like Ayurveda. Courses are packed full of guest instructors and support to make sure you get the most out of the program. The next cohort of teachers will begin their classes February 25th, so you still have a few more weeks to sign up!