Yoga is not just one thing.
It’s been written about and talked about a thousand times over…
What is yoga? What’s not yoga?
Ask ten people and you’ll get ten different answers. And that’s okay.
This may be challenging – we don’t need to make someone else wrong to feel safe in our own belief. Yet that’s exactly how we operate. We argue our belief and try to convince others to agree with us.
And of course we do! When we agree, we feel like we belong. It’s important to recognize that belonging is not dependent on agreeing.
To me, disagreeing often feels like a disconnect or a rift. I have also experienced how acceptance can bridge that rift and create a deep, true sense of belonging. Each of us wants to feel heard and loved, no matter what. We all want forgiveness when we make mistakes.
Disagreeing is unavoidable. It’s just a thing that happens from time to time. Remembering that helps me accept disagreement.
A C C E P T A N C E doesn’t require you to agree with or even like something.
A C C E P T A N C E is often an active choice to see through the fog of heightened emotions.
A C C E P T A N C E is simply acknowledging something for what it is so you can see your options clearly and choose a path forward.
I can not like something and resist it – focusing and spending my energy on what I don’t want – an exhausting and unproductive cycle.
Or I can not like it, accept it and decide how I’m going to proceed.
My most effective teachers and coaches didn’t answer my questions. They inquired about my answer and offered perspective to help me get clearer. So I’ll “answer” the what is yoga question by simply sharing about my own practice. I hope to encourage you to investigate your answer through personal experience and discovering your needs.
Yoga is not just one thing. It has physical, mental, emotional, spiritual (not to be confused with religious), and cultural components. So it’s no surprise how a wide range of yoga practice styles have developed over the ages.
My practice is more than physical. It’s a doorway to my true nature. A route home. A way to deepen my spiritual connection. A way to keep my heart, mind & body in sync and supporting one another. A way to observe and course correct when I get out of sync.
Sometimes it requires my eyes open, sometimes it requires them closed.
Sometimes it involves talking, other times silence.
Sometimes stillness, sometimes movement.
My movement practice is purposeful, engaging, and designed to build strength in full range of motion to improve mobility. I want to be sure the “house” I will always live in (my body) will support me with ease in the years to come. I want it to be free from limitations and ailments as much as possible. There are “yoga postures” I don’t do. How I teach and practice postures has changed over the years and will continue to.
Practicing at Omaha Power Yoga means practicing awareness, acceptance, strength, agility, and resilience. It may sound intense – and sometimes it is – so we infuse humor & joy to keep it light.
You’re welcome to join us! Get started here.
Much love,
Suzanne
