Here.
“We are here to love each other.
That is why you are alive.
That is what life is for.”
-Maya Angelou
"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life."
-Omar Khayyam
Episode 70.
Here.
There is a sense of collective unraveling...humans are afflicted...we are holding on, but also undergoing some level of collapse...there is disruption in our global system- and it is impacting our intrinsic systems- emotional, physical, cognitive, spiritual... we are lacking...we are missing...human touch, sunshine, warmth, casual interaction, deep connection...
We have hope, and we also feel struggle...
We are standing, and we are also falling...
We are enduring, and we are also fatigued...
We are strong, and we are also fragile...
Unraveling.
Loneliness. Isolated. Disconnected.
We are feeling it. But we are ashamed of our loneliness.
We don’t post on Instagram or reach out to friends with our needs. Because our culture rewards independence and autonomy… but the reality is… we are inter-dependent beings. Connection and belonging are basic biological needs.
So, we suffer in silence as we long for the nuanced connection of socialization that is profoundly regulating to our physical and psychological states.
Connection, even in small ways, keeps us healthy and sane.
Is there a place we can be connected? Is there a space that feels grounded despite the shifting unpredictability of life? Is there a practice we can fall upon in the face of tough times?
Since my first yoga class, decades ago, I have had a sense of this place; this space; this practice. It has not always been material or defined. It has not always offered explicit peace or ease. It has not always generated overt healing or rescuing. It has not always been rightly respected or glorified. But I have always known that yoga would be my Here. The moments would add up to a cumulative effect of release, reckoning, peace, healing, growth- distinct from anything else I had ever done.
Through teaching and practicing in these pandemic months, which have turned into years, through life's heartaches and joys that have brought me to my knees- I truly find hope in the HERE. The connection in BEING as I teach and practice in the space called Yoga. This is not a sales pitch or even a personal testimony, and I am not into the woo-woo...more on the opposite spectrum of drill sergeant...
But, I do know that there is magic in our coming together in the movement-breath-based practice of yoga.
Yes. Magic.
Here.
We practice in connection.
Here.
We move and breathe together.
Here.
We know we mean something to each other.
Here.
There is a deep sense that our lives are intertwined.
Here.
We can show up messy and alone, to be accepted as light and love.
Here.
Connected in the unraveling.
Always. Here.
...just keep showing up....
With Love,
Jess
“Our own life has to be our message.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh
"No one can be by himself or herself alone, everyone has to inter-be with every one else. That is why, when you look outside, around you, you can see yourself."
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Do it all with Love. Nothing is promised. But everything is workable.
To get these weekly episodes of THE SHIFT in your inbox, free…. sign up here THE SHIFT NEWSLETTER
