What Yoga Means To Me

How Yoga Allows you to Embrace the Flow of Life and Find Self in Stillness - By Rose Bruno Bailey

Reading time: 4 minutes

I hold my outstretched hands under the running water as the energy of the current passes through my fingertips. I embrace the sensation of the power of life, welcoming the cleansing that takes place as I allow myself to just be in the sanctuary of the moment. I close my hands but cannot contain the water, nor do I wish to. It flows through my open palms as it reminds me life is constantly moving forward. I can move with purpose with the surge and find my reason for being or be washed away with wayward sticks and stones. The choice is mine as I immerse myself in the movement of peace.

I step out of the water and onto damp earth, feeling grounded and centered. My toes wiggle deep into the soil, and I'm one with this place we call home. Standing tall, I look up to trees that have grown since the birth of time. Their limbs twist and turn in the wind with such grace. I cannot help but wish to emulate their poses, balance and beauty personified. Statuesque trees stretch and reach for the sun, saluting to the light which nurtures all life. Darkness and the passing of time cannot claim the trees, patiently they await for the return of the sun with the evolution of the seasons. They are our ancient teachers and survivors.

I return to the water, floating and buoyant as I feel warmth and illumination above me. I am alone but I feel connected to everything that is the universe. Relaxed and in a moment of pause, I have found that I'm am one with everything that is, and in that moment I have met myself. Not what I believed to be myself but who I am deep inside the caverns of my spirit.

The practice of yoga gifts the energy of the rustling water, the power of the peace and cleansing it offers. We are grounded and centered as we stand on our mat, digging our toes as we are reunited with our heart center. We stand tall in our poses with the grace of trees and the ability to travel within the light; making it past the darkness that sometimes hovers over our unsuspecting heads.

In Asanas we flow with intent, we are one with the each other and the earth. We feel with all of our senses and reach tall for the tips of the universe, as all of our answers are revealed in the silence of that final asana. Despite our perceived flaws in the moment of movement we find our personal perfection.

In Yoga we don't just perform the flow, we are the embodiment of the flow of life.