Shine your light
Simple affirmations to reveal your true essence and beam your beautiful light out into the world. By Eva Kristlova
Being a yoga teacher might seem to others that we are always perfectly calm, peaceful and balanced. But it doesn’t mean we have everything sorted! Like everyone else, we also have to juggle daily appointments and schedules, organise our family lives, pay the rent and yes, we get stressed too. But through practicing yoga and meditation, studying and following yogic principles we gain some magical knowledge that helps us navigate our days and live our lives as best as we can.
We can all gain lots of knowledge and wisdom from the ancient yogic scriptures and modern books on yoga; these are invaluable, especially Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Bhagavad Gita, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Upanishads, to name just a few. It is, however, our own life experiences that will make us relate to these deep yogic texts, whatever happens in our lives and how we respond. Life is an evolving journey; it is not always easy or straightforward. Yoga teaches us that every experience has something to offer to us, everyone we meet has a message for us and we too have messages for those around us. Trust that you are on the right path, that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now.
In my yoga classes, I often draw on my personal experiences, obstacles that I have overcome, hardships I experienced, and also the joys and highs that are making my heart full to the brim. I try to make my classes relevant to my students’ everyday lives and what is happening in the world around us, so everyone can find comfort and inspiration there and take whatever they need away with them. Sometimes a little quote, a breathing technique, certain yoga postures, or simply time to relax, can provide that ‘a-ha moment’ that will change the story of the day. I love working with different themes that will provide just that. Here, I will share a couple that are close to my heart.
1 – Listen to your heart
Close your eyes and place your hand on your heart. Slow down your breath and settle your mind. Now listen, listen to the whispers of your beautiful heart. Most of the time we use our logical, analytical mind and ignore the calls of our heart, even though the electromagnetic field of the heart is so much stronger than that of our brain. When we don’t listen to the messages of our heart we will experience increased tension, pressure and stress. So I invite you to really connect with your precious heart and listen to what it needs to say. Ask yourself: ‘What does bring my heart joy?’, ‘What does my heart need me to know?’. The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt in our hearts.
To clear tension from your heart centre, I invite you to chant this mantra associated with the Anahata chakra (heart chakra): “YAM.”
2 – Overcoming obstacles
On our life journey we are all met with a series of obstacles. Sometimes we feel that we are stuck, we can’t move from a certain place, everything is blocking us and we can’t see the way out. Yoga teaches us that everything is temporary, everything changes, no situation stays the same.
We can change our lives, make different decisions, put ourselves first and be in charge of our destiny. What are your dreams, aspirations and goals? Find yourself a quiet place to reflect on your life and ask yourself: ‘Where do I want to go in my life?’ and ‘What is in my way?’. Often, we find the person that is in our way is, in fact, us. Through fears, worries, conditioning and feelings of being small, not enough, not important, we forget that we are actually more powerful that we think; we forget that the only person in charge of our destiny is us. And that it is up to us to create a life that we want. Every decision that we make shapes our future and invites in new opportunities and possibilities. Let’s visualise our dreams and aspirations and imagine that we are already doing it. Speak to a friend about it and start to change your life today.
Use these affirmations: “I am in charge of my life” and “Where focus goes, energy flows.”
3 – Speak your truth
Have you ever experienced a time when you can’t get your words out, your throat is tight and you are unable to express yourself or communicate clearly? Often, our hearts know what we need to say but somewhere between our hearts and throats, and the lips, the words get lost. We feel we are unable to say what we need to say; we worry that our words might be misunderstood, that we might hurt someone with our truth or that we may get hurt in return. However, it is important to be able to speak our truth and speak from our heart. This can be done with kindness and good intention. When we suppress our truth we become small and lose our true self. So let’s practice expressing ourselves more clearly, speaking our truth with love and kindness.
Some useful affirmations here are: “I am free to speak from my heart” and “I am free to speak my truth.” Postures to practice include: cobra, fish, camel, shoulder stand and lion breath.
To clear tension from your throat centre I invite you to chant this mantra associated with the Vishuddha chakra (throat chakra): “HAM.”
4 – Lotus Flower
The lotus flower grows in muddy waters and rises above the surface to bloom with remarkable beauty. Rooted in the mud, it rises towards the sun. Many of us live in that ‘murky water’ but, like a lotus, we too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness, open our petals and radiate into the world.
I love this theme as it shows that we all sometimes go through challenging times, we all need to have certain experiences. As we move through these life challenges we find our strength and determination and eventually come to the surface and shine. In short – no mud, no lotus!
Some affirmations to use here: “Keep shining your light”, “The world needs your light” and “Be like a lotus, let the beauty of your heart speak.”
Find Eva Kristlova at Yoga Life Studio in Eastbourne (yogaeastbourne.com) or visit: yogawitheva.co.uk
Om Magazine
First published in November 2009, OM Yoga magazine has become the most popular yoga title in the UK. Available from all major supermarkets, independents and newsstands across the UK. Also available on all digital platforms.
