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An Invitation Home - April 2004

In our fragmented culture, the body and mind are often viewed as separate. Reason and emotion oppose one another, and you and I view each other through the lens of difference rather than compassionate understanding. We spend much of our time alone, isolated by fear, repressing our natural longing for the experience of shared joy. We even forget to breathe, convinced that we'll somehow lose our placement in the world if we pause and connect for a moment to our own heart's desire.

In my role as a yoga teacher, I sometimes feel I'm playing hostess, introducing people to someone they have been companion to for many, many years and yet have never really developed a relationship with: themselves. Child-like wonder registers on new students' faces as they discover the challenge of steadying their breath, of balancing on their toes, or maneuvering their way around a body they'd all but forgotten existed beyond essential needs. It's as if they're becoming acquainted with a neighbor down the street, who for years they had only waved to in passing.

Sometimes, I suggest to students that their bodies are somewhat like neglected children who have been ignored, and are now either completely shut down or have rebelled with temper tantrums of pain. Either way, the remedy is the same: Show up with a willingness to befriend the back, the belly, or shoulder that has been labeled 'bad'. Through simple movement and conscious breathing we can learn to read the signals our bodies and hearts are giving us, and develop a more loving relationship with this physical vessel that carries us through our daily lives. This is the gift of yoga: It teaches us to reunite with ourselves in a way that renews our energy and re-establishes trust in our basic goodness.

Yoga is an invitation to return home, to come to know ourselves wholly. We may begin with the body, but it becomes quickly obvious that the body, mind and heart are linked. The line of separation is merely an illusion. We create divisions as a way of compartmentalizing our experience, maintaining a belief that doing so will keep us safe, much like the fences we build around our yards. In reality, what nourishes the body, also feeds the heart, and when the mind is free of stress, the body relaxes and is able to move with less restriction. Yoga is about direct experience. It's about coming into right relationship with yourself, and through practice, developing harmonious relationships with everything and everyone around you.

Like any healthy relationship, once communication is established, the challenging task is to stay awake and keep listening, to keep 'showing up'. I find if I attend to my personal practice with the same quality of care I attend to my students, I am more fully present with the people around me during the course of the day. In making myself a priority, rather than experiencing self-absorption, I feel a more expansive and inclusive connection to others. In turn, this brings more laughter, sweetness and joy into my life and inspires me to keep practicing. As the spiritual teachings suggest: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And, if I am only for myself, who then am I? And, if not now, when?"

Join us. Discover yourself …

Blessings,

The Yoga Barn, Inc.
Robin Rothenberg, Certified Yoga Instructor
660 NW Gilman Blvd., Suite C6, Issaquah, WA  98027
Studios located in both Issaquah and Fall City
Phone: 425.427.0038  -  Fax: 425.427.0613
E-mail: info@yogabarn.com  -  Web: www.yogabarn.com

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