I think I have not been remiss in saying how much I have fallen in love with yoga, right? It has replaced (yes, now I can say that officially!) my love for the hoop and even for movement based activities such as playing wii games…the only thing it has not taken over is walking Bubba 
Over the past few weeks, I have moved from the quiet, slow relaxed pace of Yin Yoga to the exciting challenge of Ashtanga. While yin has captured my heart, Ashtanga has made that passion grow even more. In fact after one of my sessions recently, I couldn’t help but marvel at the yin and yang of the practice…with that came this declaration:
ashtanga is passion, yin is love
ashtanga is excitement, yin is calm
ashtanga is challenge, yin is surrender
ashtanga is heart, yin is soulwhatever way you put it at the end of the day all i can say is yoga makes my heart, body, mind and soul happy and whole.
In practicing the yin and the yang, I have been able to observe in both stillness and movement the different qualities of my physical, mental and emotional self. If I may dare do venture saying, it has also allowed me to see the different sides of me and further appreciate each one of them and their role in my life.
On the physical level, I have been able to take note of my strengths and weaknesses. For one, I have become more acutely aware of how much “weaker” my left side is to the right, which actually is a surprise to me because I assumed my left would be stronger because I am left handed (where I got that notion I don’t really know hahaha…nor care for that matter!!!). I notice this when I try to do tree pose and find myself more still and stable on the right compared to the left. In the same manner, in ash I can note that my upper body is really much stronger than my lower half. While I did know this in the past, it has become strikingly obvious. In yin I was able to notice where I hold my tension, and how much tighter my left is to the right.
On the mental and emotional levels, I have noticed how hard it truly is for me to surrender in confidence, knowing full well that no matter what, I am safe. This translates so very much to the way I engage in every day life situations: I try so very much to stay in control of things and be sure of where I stand in whatever situation. In the same manner, I have become aware of how powerful my thoughts are to the point that many times, too often in fact, I am held captive by it. But through my practice, I have learned to move from just simple awareness to living through the letting go and being still and listening in silence, albeit admittedly, in some aspects of my life, it can be very slow.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been just about a month since I started down this path but it has really changed me in so many ways. The yin and the yang…yes, they do exist.
