Yoga invites us to say “Yes!” to life in all its forms. It encourages us to accept the life’s flavors as an offering from the Divine to simply experience. In Tantric philosophy, we are reminded that life is to be enjoyed - fully. This way, life itself becomes a practice of welcoming and honoring everything. The practice of Yoga invites us to create space within for all of our thoughts, emotions, words and actions to be welcomed and to belong. It is an invitation to find the deepest levels of compassion, kindness and trust so that we can offer them to ourselves and extend them to others as well. This practice teaches us that our body and our life is an instrument of divinity. It reminds us that life is a dance and that life is simply supposed to be experienced.
To say “Yes!” to life means to open our heart and feel our vulnerability. It allows us to expand our heart rather than contract it in fear and doubt. It teaches us to celebrate and honor our life by deepening and refining our relationship to ourselves. Because even when we are “down”, the nurturing feminine quality of life itself always lifts us up, elevating us and providing us exactly what is needed for our nourishment and vitality.
To honor our life and the divinity within means to hone our strength by showing our weakness. It means to cultivate courage in the midst of vulnerability. It means to create space within that is steeped in the deepest levels of trust.
It teaches us to accept our perfection even when we are falling apart. We are supposed to experience the beauty and glory of the life. We are meant to experience joy and freedom here in this life.
In Yoga, King Nataraja reminds us that life is a dance. In his classic depiction, his fierce cosmic dance teaches us that life requires a balance. He teaches us that to fully liberate ourselves, we need to release ourselves from fear. Shiva’s dance is born out of liberation from the fear of change. He reminds us that we must stand firm in our ability to take life as it comes. To balance our fears, we must open our courageous hearts. We must fiercely trust in the beauty of the Divinity. We must trust that we are being cared for every step of the way.
In this life-affirming philosophy, Yoga reminds us that all dualities, ranging from happiness to sorrow, joy to grief, the full spectrum of feelings and emotions, are the manifestation of the Divine that is designed to bring us closer to our own divinity.
Yoga asks from us to remember all of that.
Blessing: May we commit ourselves to a fierce dedication to the deepest truths of our heart. May we open our hearts ever more so that we can instill in ourselves trust that we are supported, loved and nourished.