This morning I woke up early and made my way over to a yoga mat, but it was different from other mornings. Since I was in middle school, I've had a home yoga practice. Some years have been filled with sunlit studios and beloved teachers. Other years I've done simple sun salutations while watching the sunrise on my balcony, or while shaking my booty to trip hop beats on a beach vacation.
A few years ago I thought of taking a yoga teacher training to deepen my practice, but the timing wasn't right. I love learning. I love continuing to grow, but I just didn't seem to have the right window or level of commitment. I thought it would be hard. I thought I wasn't good enough. I thought I'd have to explain myself (to who, I don't know). I'm sure you know where that whole train of thought was going. We do this to ourselves often, don't we? Lacking confidence or self-authority, it's easy to talk ourselves out of what we really want.
A POWERFUL CHORD CLEARING
Earlier this month I did an intensive Reiki self-healing and self-chord clearing process (which I teach in Chord Clearing Bootcamp). It was a deep healing experience and I'm still unpacking all of the beautiful revelations that followed. Anyways, after the chord clearing on myself, I knew it was time to begin a yoga teacher training process. Nothing had really changed other than my energy from clearing.
SIGNPOSTS
Ironically, after I'd decided that it was time to do this, I kept speaking with friends, students, and newly met strangers who would happen to mention that they were in (or had taken) a yoga teacher training. Some of them had even taken classes with some of the teachers I was considering. I call these signposts. They are little nudges from the universe showing us that the universe is listening and that our powers of attraction are working to lead us toward what we're seeking.
I am not planning to become a yoga teacher. But I knew that my mind, body, and heart could use more support and instruction through the yogic teachings and practices.
SAYING YES TO THE UNKNOWN
I signed up. I knew instantly that it was right. I found myself expanding in spirit just listening to lectures on yoga and inclusivity, the meaning of lineage, and the vows of teaching. And then there was the work on the mat.... Ahhhh, the mat....
Flopping down on the mat these past few weeks (yes flopping), I've felt like a newborn all over again. Following a sequence at the behest of a teacher exposes the areas I have not *wanted* to focus or develop in my home practice. I have always maintained regular mentors in my energy healing, but it has been years since I had a regular daily teacher in my yoga practice. I can see where my strength is lacking, and where a level of grace I once prized as a ballet dancer also faded in the passage of time.
It was hard to recognize that areas of my practice I'd neglected had now shrunk... BUT I LOVE seeing these areas to work on. I LOVE these realizations because they lead to more growth. I believe it's a testament to my Reiki Practice that as each year passes, I am increasingly able to look at myself with love even as I study the aspects of myself I'd like to transform.
My Reiki practice keeps me strong and clear. There are even times I combine Reiki and Yoga at home, in specific flows I channeled a few years back. It feels like dancing with light, and I am always very peaceful after.
Reiki is adaptable, and it makes friends with everything. It heals just by being welcomed, and that's why I still teach Reiki.
FEELING LIKE A FAILURE IS NOT ALWAYS BAD
This morning I couldn't do some of the poses very well. I felt myself wanting to drop into criticism, but I allowed all of that to fall away effortlessly. "I don't talk to myself like that anymore," I said inwardly. "Feeling clumsy or nubile is okay."
And yes, dear reader, it was okay. I felt my body generating heat, and my muscles making up new memories. I was thrilled to discover that some old athletic injuries are truly gone. Even more old energy will continue to detox. I'm now ready to build strength and fluidity.
In society we're often taught to aim for perfection, and we don't always learn to appreciate the place we're at, as we grow. We're not supposed to live out some ideal of perfection that someone else created. You're here to live authentically in your body, and to explore life on your terms.
On my mat, allowing myself love, time, and attention, I felt the fullness of my life and mission. After an hour of yoga, I sat still and welcomed in Reiki for deeper reflection. I could feel my body more balanced because of the physical practice. I took pleasure in the Reiki flow. I felt my soul filling out my body.
LET YOUR PRACTICES GIVE YOU COURAGE
If you have ways you'd like to grow or learn in life, don't shy away. Move towards what makes you curious. You want to learn energy work? Or take a trip somewhere uncommon? You don't need to justify your feelings, just trust that good things will come as the result of you listening to your soul stirrings.
blessings, Dailey
* photo by Chelsea Shapouri via Unsplash
DAILEY LITTLE is a healing practitioner, transformational life coach, ordained Priestess, and teacher who founded Healing Heart Reiki to help others navigate life with joy. She offers private sessions, and teaches classes in healing and mindset from a magical peaceful corner of the world in Northern California. For more info see: www.SantaRosaReiki.com