On The Path

I can't tell you I know exactly when it all began. All I know is at some point I realized that I was on the path of yoga.  It didn't begin with my first class way back in 1994 when I began practicing Iyengar yoga with my first teacher, Murray.  The class was held at the University of Melbourne where I was working as the manager of their group exercise program and I walked into the class because it was becoming so incredibly popular with students and colleagues I had to go see what all the buzz was about.

For those of you who practice Iyengar yoga, you know that it is quite particular in sequencing, the use of props and alignment. We never chanted, meditated or spoke about yoga philosophy. Having been a gymnast, it was a practice that I was "good" at, in that I could do many of the poses including inversions, balances and strong standing poses.  I enjoyed the practice but it didn't stir my soul.  It was all quite physical in the beginning.

My practice took a brief hiatus when we moved to the States.  I didn't have a teacher or a studio that drew me in.  I would practice on occasion but all quite informally in my own personal training studio. Yet there was always something deep within me that kept yoga in my consciousness.  I had a feeling that I'd be drawn back to it, which I was when my husband Ed made a deal with me.  One day he said, "I'm getting older and I need to work on my flexibility. I wish you taught yoga."  To which I replied, "I'll make you a deal. I'll go and do my yoga certification if you promise to come to classes.".  He paused only for a moment and said, "I'll take that deal..."  And the rest is history, or so to speak.

It was somewhere in my 200-hour training that the door to yoga philosophy was opened.  I knew in those first exposures that I was hungry for more.  It was the philosophy of the practice that I had been yearning to explore.  And perhaps that's where I took my first genuine and committed steps along this particular spiritual path.  I had found a framework that made sense and was a way to begin living my life in a daily way that was practical.  It became my practice.

I have always had a spiritual curiosity.  Dear friends in Australia and I would meet on a regular basis to drink wine, eat food and discuss the latest "new age" teachings and ideas.  Looking back, so much of what we were talking about emerged from the ancient yogic philosophies now wearing a modern age outfit.

In walking along this path, I knew that I wanted to become conscious about how I was living my life.  I wanted to choose how I was on a daily basis, to be present with the people in front of me from a place of compassion and love.  I wanted to enter into a better relationship with my physical body, from a place of acceptance and gratitude.  I knew that if I began to practice these ancient teachings, that I could more authentically ask others to practice them as well.   The saying of "walking the talk" has been important to me and I clearly remember setting a firm intention to do so from a genuine place.  But that wasn't the only reason.  It felt right on the deepest level of my own being.  If I were to never teach it to anyone else, I knew in my heart that it was the missing piece to my own joy.

In looking back over my own evolution, I have no doubt that I have found my feet firmly embedded on this path.  It doesn't mean it's the right path for everybody and we all need to find what sparks that indescribable pull to higher realms.  Many paths, one truth. That truth for me is via these ancient teachings-the path of yoga. My wish is that we all may find what resonates deep within us and follow it.

Listen to the inner voice...it's full of wisdom.