Importance of Yoga through Challenging times
Last year, as a global pandemic spread throughout the world, I read an email from my teacher Tiffany Crusishank, founder of Yoga Medicine, that resonated strongly with me; she said ”…the show must go on and it times like these when people really need the benefits of yoga to support them through these challenging times”.
As a teacher in the middle of running a teacher training, teaching yoga classes and passing on the tools and techniques that had helped me, it was a great reminder to not cancel everything and wait till it was all over. It was the encouragement to find new ways to continue teaching and sharing as this is what was needed more than ever during these challenging times. For me this meant embracing technology that I had resisted so that I could still show up for my students.
Our practices are there as a daily ritual for your mind, body and energy and often we need them most when we are experiencing those challenging moments of periods of change and uncertainty. Our practice isn’t just there for the days we feel good but for the days we feel stressed, tired, anxious or can’t get out of our heads. It gives us an opportunity to intentionally approach our day as we have done so in our practice and that intention has a ripple effect to those around us.
For me, right now, my intention is to be more playful, intentional, creative and to make time to be in nature doing what fills me up.
I recently uprooted my life in Melbourne and made a change I had wanted to do for a while, and it already feels like home. It’s been a practice of paying attention, following my intuition and going with the flow (even when that has not been easy to do). We often don’t have all the answers, and I certainly don’t, but I can say that trusting my gut and going with the flow of what feels right has landed me in a happy place.
The reason I’m sharing this is because I spent a big chunk of 2020 not listening to my intuition and not finding a flow that felt right within the things that I could control. I wasn’t showing up as intentionally as I would have liked, I temporarily lost my playful nature which is part of who I am and my creativity and motivation went out the window. In hindsight my intuition and my body we’re trying to tell me something but I was resisting the tuning in and listening in.
Our practices are not for when things are working out the way we want them to. Practice is meant to help us when things are hard. It’s for the times when we are hurt, outraged, frustrated, anxious, times when we don't know what is coming next. It was the yoga, meditation breathwork, journaling, surfing, dancing and nature time that helped me find my playfulness, creativity and intentional show up for myself and others again.
Like when we do not have work, or cancellations to travelling plans, or navigating relationships. Times when someone kindly asks if you are OK and you simply burst into tears. Which is totally OK. And, actually everything IS okay even if sometimes it doesn't feel that way.
That’s why we practice. Our practice influences our mind and our thoughts, our body and our physiology, our energy and how we interact with the world around us. We practice to help navigate the life transitions, changes, ups and downs and prepare us with tools and techniques for this wild life journey.
With regular consistent practice you become more in-tune with yourself, your body, mind and energy and it's from this place you can tap into your intuition and let that be your guide. It becomes easier to navigate the challenges, you become more resilient, more adaptable and when challenging times hit you, the tools you’ve cultivated in your practice will help you when you need them most. It doesn’t mean you won’t feel pain, heart ache, frustration, anger or sadness but your ability to release what you need to and move through those emotions will be amplified.
This is some of my experience with yoga and I hope that if you needed to hear this, that it’s a reminder to find time for you, your practice and the intentional moments in your day that will strengthen you and your intuition.
BIO: Amelia is a Yoga Teacher and Applied Anatomy Trainer, sought after for her intelligence and playfulness. Now living her dream in the NSW Byron Shire Amelia hopes to help others find the potential to live a life filled with inspiration through the gifts of yoga. Amelia loves surfing, hiking, handstands, peanut butter, dark chocolate, and great conversations with like-minded souls. Join her livestream classes at Yoga LYFE or through her online platform at Axis Yoga.