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@Karina.Guthrie.Yoga

I remember the first time someone invited me to ex

I remember the first time someone invited me to expand my definition of yoga. The invitation came with a great sense of relief because its so easy for our relationship with yoga to become myopic. ‘Yoga is asana’ (for example) is a myopic definition of yoga.

Yoga can include asana, of course but first and foremost yoga is a method of self inquiry. The purpose of that self inquiry is to help us see clearly where we’re clinging to ideas (about ourself and the world) that make our experience smaller.

Some of the inquiry can (and should) be bodily. Many of our mental and emotional holding patterns are held in place by the body. Asana is a wonderful way to unwind those patterns and purify the body of the lingering effects of our life choices.

Beyond that, though, we can (and should) explore other techniques; techniques we tend to overlook if our definition of yoga is too small.

The obvious examples are pranayama and meditation, but what about bandha, mantra, yoga nidra, self inquiry?

The idea here is not to amass techniques, but to broaden the range of resources we have at our disposal (and broaden our definition of practice) so our experience of practice can be deeper and wider, and so can our experience of self.

Asana is not the practice, awareness is the practice. Asana is a tool to get us there.

This week is the last chance to sign up for the next 300h YTT! We begin in Friday. The application form and course info are at the link in my bio 🌷🧡

Yoga! What a journey 😉 I certainly didn’t hav

Yoga! What a journey 😉 I certainly didn’t have any idea the extent to which this would be true when I began practicing. At first, I just noticed that yoga made me feel better. It helped me be more conscious, more calm, more comfortable in my skin.

That yoga can do this is kind of the point. Plumb its depths and we find techniques for everything we could need. It quiets the mind, improves our relationships, grows our compassion, fosters connection, increases motivation, heals us from illness, improves our memory, kickstarts digestion, strengthens our resolve and helps us let go so we can touch the part of us that’s universal.

While some techniques are physical (asana-based), many of them are not. Asana is a tiny drop in the vast ocean of yoga so if we limit ourselves to asana, we limit ourselves too.

If you’ve benefited as much from asana as I have, imagine what else you might uncover if you explore the rest of the ocean?

If we want yoga to help us uncover meaning, empower us and take us beyond our conditions and condition, it will…IF we keep digging 😊

300h YTT starts at the end of this month! Details at the link in my bio :)

When we think about yoga, we generally think about

When we think about yoga, we generally think about the body, however, yoga is way more interested in the development of our awareness than it is in the development of our physique.

Postures are important, but only as preparation. They help us create a relaxed and healthy body so it can support the deeper work of yoga (the refinement of our relationship with the mind and a movement towards an experience of that which lies beyond the mind).

Insofar as the body is concerned, the goal is to become less attached, not more.

Our posture (be that a formal one in yoga or an informal one in life) is an external manifestation of our internal state. When the mind is tense the body is tense. When the mind is relaxed the body is relaxed.

And so asana becomes a mirror: the movements of the body illuminating the movements of the mind, and the work of re-patterning of the body also re-patterning the movements of the mind.

New content is up on The Embodiment Project! Sig

New content is up on The Embodiment Project!

Sign up at the link in my bio 😊

If I asked you why you practice yoga, you might sa

If I asked you why you practice yoga, you might say lots of things: to get calm or strong or rehab the body or reduce stress, all of which are awesome “why’s”. They’re also different from yoga’s why.

Yoga really only has one ‘why’. For you to know yourself; the deepest, truest part of yourself. So If yoga could choose, for you, the reason you practice would practice, that would be it. All of yoga’s techniques are designed to help you with that.

Once you know yoga’s ‘why’ it’s easy to know what practices to do. Until then, choosing the right practice can be confusing. They all seem like good practices (and they are, in the right context) but only the right practice for US will help us come to know the truth about ourselves.

So, instead of asking ‘Is this practice fun?’, we need to ask, ‘Does this practice make me feel more balanced? Does it create a version of me with more discernment? Am I kinder because of my practice? And most importantly, am I more connected to that most essential part of me?

@KARINA.GUTHRIE

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