YOGA
It had been at least a year since my feet felt the cushiony softness of my yoga mat. After my first miscarriage I abandoned my body, desperately trying to detach from the pain. By the fourth loss I had completely lost faith in my body and my courage to be with what was happening. To quote Cicero, “A man of courage is also full of faith.” And I had neither. I had shut down. For months I refused to listen to the messages my body was giving me. I ignored it when it whispered, spoke and then eventually screamed to me that my heart was broken and I needed to tend to it. Elena Brower talks about ‘bringing our yoga’ to that which we are afraid of and that was exactly what I did not want to do. I did not want yoga to uncover my broken heart or the part of me that was humiliated and the body that felt broken. Then one day after an appointment with my osteopath his words lingered in my ear. He said that my body felt good and my spirit was strong, but there was no connection between the two. This time the message was too clear to ignore. I had to find the courage to do exactly what I had so vehemently been opand cried a river of tears. This became my practice for two weeks – lie down and let it out. From there my practice grew and each day as I met myself on my mat I found myself returning to my body, opening my heart and coming back to life. Throughout this process I have learned that it takes courage to embrace what life brings us with an open heart. It takes courage to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and face our fears. It takes courage to befriend our bodies - especially when they are not living up to our expectations. It takes courage to live fully in the present moment and trust our capacity to be with what is happening now. And ultimately I learned that the authentic courage required to fully embrace ourselves and our experiences is in us all along; and that yoga, the practice of meeting ourselves on our mats, is a wonderful way to help us find it.
It takes courage to embrace what life brings us with an open heart.
posing. I had to bring my yoga to my broken heart and body and let it work its magic. Let it open me and reconnect me to myself. So that is what I did. I got home from the appointment and I unrolled my yoga mat and I lay down on it in Savasana
Kristin Tait is a certified exercise physiologist, a registered Phoenix Rising yoga teacher, and a registered holistic nutritionist. Currently she is studying to become an Ayurvedic Lifestyle Consultant. Kristin is a student of life, a deep soul diver, a seeker of truth. Her greatest passions are natural health and healing, yoga, all things culinary and creative, and assisting both herself and others in their quest to live a healthy, authentic, and inspired life.