06/21/2021
Happy International Day of Yoga
I started practicing when I was 15. The feeling I got from practicing was reminiscent of how I felt when I was little girl, about 6 years old, looking out into space during quiet moments and thinking about what it means to be a human, to be in relationship, and to be alive. I wouldn’t have used those words as a six-year-old, but that is the best way I can describe it now that I am 30. This process of connection, curiosity, and inquiry has been a consistent thread throughout my years of meditation and asana practice, and it is an honor to hold space for other people to practice, as well.
According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there are eight limbs of yoga: Yama (ethical ways to live in relationship), Niyama (ethical ways to be with oneself), Asana (posture practice), Pranayama (restraint or extension of breath), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (absorption). There are specific branches of yoga, there are styles, there are schools of thought that differ from one another, and there is so much history. I have personally spent a lot of time and energy focusing and strengthening a few of the limbs of yoga and still have much to learn and incorporate.
This holiday, we can use this opportunity to understand the roots of yoga and understand what is being celebrated. If you’re interested in learning more about yoga, I recommend learning from and of Yoga Is Dead podcast and of Tulsa’s only BIPOC yoga studio
