Have you ever been to a yoga class and not wanted to leave? You feel calm, relaxed and rejuvenated and the thought of going back to the hustle and bustle of life doesn’t seem so attractive. I could easily spend a couple of hours on my mat to the point where I think it could be mistaken for escapism. However I don’t have that opportunity that much anymore as Vanaya pulls me off my mat and into the throws of life. Motherhood has definetely taught me to embrace, live and love life and the following affirmation has really helped;
‘I release all fear. I now trust the process of life. Life is for me. I stand straight and tall with love.’
This afirmation is by Louise Hay from her book Heal Your Body (I started to use the affirmation in particular to help me with the scoliosis in my spine). Repeating the affirmation made me realise that I didn’t trust the process of life and I always thought things worked against me rather than for me. Even though I had achieved lots of wonderful things I still didn’t trust the process. This affirmation made me understand that in order to .. live your best life… you need to love life. So I’ve started to question how can I love life?
I think understanding the power of love to steer life in a positive direction helps us to uncover our greatest potential. This requires quite some effort and hard work but it pays off when you’re on that amazing holiday, when your working in your dream job or when you experience the deep peace at the end of a long meditation practice. Also in contrast I think learning to let go when things don’t go to plan allows you to relax and enjoy life. Things don’t have to be perfect and when we can realise and acknowledge that things are not perfect we open ourselves up to acceptance; acceptance of ourselves and being accepted by others. So taking control to steer life and then letting go form an equal and opposite force that brings a sense of equilibrium and harmony. Life is easier to love when we feel that things are in harmony and when we are working with the universe.
I mentioned that I used yoga as a form of escapism and actually we probably all need somewhere to escape in order to help us live life. Yoga and meditation in particular is that space where I can let go of the world for a few moments and recharge myself so that I can come back into the world with fresh eyes. After meditation I feel like I can embrace life and I am more productive. Meditation gives me clarity and when I have clarity, I can see where my life is going. It makes me feel secure which makes me feel stronger. Where as without meditation I feel a bit lost and I get pulled into lots of different directions which cause anxiety and worry. So in order to live life… to live my best life… I know that I need to turn life ‘off’ for a few moments in meditation. Its in that space that I discover the feeling of love. Love for myself, love for others and love for life. Life is amazing from watching my breath to even better when I sit and watch my baby breathe. Through my life I created new life. Life really is a miracle.
From the birth of Vanaya and watching her grow to when I travel and I am in nature I can often be caught off guard by something amazing that is divine and spectacular. I think it’s in those moments that I feel in awe of the beauty of life. I so easily get caught up in the day to day routine of what I need to do and where I need to be etc that I can easily miss those awe inspiring moments. But it is those moments that we should live for and its those moments that occur more often than we realise. We just need to stop, breathe and enjoy our precious life.
Has anything ever stopped you in your tracks and you suddenly thought… wow life is a miracle? Let me know in the comments as I would love to hear your story.
