This month You and The Mat invited me to create the blog post for the month of May. The topic to write on was to be “what moves and inspires you?” In this opportunity life seemed to be gifting me a question that needed exploration… What really inspires me, how do I embody my yoga? My life has been in a constant state of flux for the last 6 months and in the current of change, finding the answer to what moves me initially felt quite elusive.
The place that has offered refuge in the constant shifting is my meditation altar. Day after day I’ve been sitting to practice the art of being while my life swirled with the inevitable energy of doing. A few mornings back, sitting in my quiet space, the inspiration arrived. What moves me is water. One of my daily practices, gifted to me by a wise teacher, is to have a cup of water on my meditation altar and upon waking, offer to the water, as the object of my meditation, my heartfelt intentions, devotions, mantras and gratitude for the day. When the process feels complete, I drink the water in, receiving in my body through the water all the gratitude and love that I have offered outwards. In this act of self care, I am reminded of the connection between all things. This practice of sitting and giving gratitude to the water has been my biggest gift. It is in anchor in a world of movement.
My love for water runs deep. As a little girl I would stand at the mouth of a river and marvel at the paradox of water – the way water can be both the most gentle andpowerful thing on Earth. When obstacles arise, water moves. When the path changes, water shifts course with grace knowing it will arrive in due time. It is the gentle all encompassing force that lives within each of us. No matter what shifts around me, water is there to remind me to be both steady and soft. The invitation seems to be to become the embodiment of my yoga practice and find santosha, (contentment) even when the waters of life swirl with a little more current than usual. Water moves me – inspires me – to get on my mat and move. To sit and be still; and in that stillness opening the door for me to the yogic devotional practice of Ishvara Pranidhana – surrendering deeply to the flow of life. Thank you water, thank you.