How Practicing Yoga Taught Me to Stay Curious The Yoga Series

Yoga

September 19, 2017

The first few yoga classes I ever attended I just ended with an “om” and “namastay” because everyone else did. I would go through practice and pay attention to things being said but never really look into them or give them much thought after I left my mat. It wasn’t until I started to fall more in love with practicing that I became more curious. What did it mean? What was I saying? I could be saying anything, possibly even something I didn’t believe in just for the sake of blending in, and I had no idea. I had zero clue what “namastay” meant. It wasn’t until I finally got my answer that I became even more curious and realized how much of an impact this practice could have!

Once I learned how beautiful of a statement namastay was and the beauty behind honoring someone just for showing up, or just for being who they are… it really made me begin to look more into everything that was said to me. I quickly learned that I felt uncomfortable when super spiritual things were mentioned. Or I felt nervous when political statements or beliefs were referenced or named. For me, I was always taught to be politically correct I guess you could say. I was taught that talking about religion or politics publicly was a HUGE NO NO. I shouldn’t make others feel uncomfortable just for simply wanting to publicly acknowledged or share my beliefs.

This quickly made me realize that maybe there was a bigger meaning behind my discomfort. Was I uncomfortable because I didn’t believe the same things that were being spoken into me? Or was I uncomfortable because I DID believe in what was being discussed, but it wasn’t how I was raised or what I was use to! This quickly turned on a light bulb I guess you could say!

Why did I believe this? Is it because I was raised that way? Was it someone else’s beliefs that I just took on as my own?

This quickly became one of the biggest lessons learned from my mat. I now understood why yoga was such a spiritual and inner journey. These beliefs and words were something I was never use to and I was obviously uncomfortable for a reason. As cheesy as it sounds, these practices began to shape me. After paying more and more attention to what my instructor was saying I began to realize and reshape my beliefs. I began to discover myself, my morals and what made me, ME!

You may not always agree with what is being said or lessons being taught, but the curiosity of looking into it is what has taught me the most! The ability to listen, really listen and then discover if I agreed or disagreed was a power all in it’s own!

We are not the beliefs and lessons that have been spoken into us our whole lives. We are who we decide to be. We are who we allow ourselves to be and what we decide to pour our knowledge and lessons into. Becoming curious has trained me into thinking and seeing life in a new way… one that is bettering who I am every single day.

 

Hair: PSC Hair Artistry

Modeling with Me: Olivia Reed

Photo: Emma Jean Photography

 

Other posts you’ll fall in love with:

How I Started Yoga & My Personal Journey

Announcing The Yoga Series

Meet The Girl Behind The Lens

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