Everyday Yogini

ev·ery·day Pronunciation:\_ev-r_-_d_, _ev-re-_\
Function: adjective
circa 1623 : encountered or used routinely or typically : ordinary

yo·gi (ni) Pronunciation: \_y_-g_\
Function:noun Etymology: Sanskrit yogin, from yoga
Date:1619
1: a person who practices Yoga
2: a markedly reflective or mystical person

Everyday Yogini: One who possesses a markedly reflective nature and applies personal insight to living an ordinary life with extraordinary grace.

The minute I started practicing Yoga back in college was the minute Yoga started affecting every area of my life. In retrospect, it was like tapping the domino at the end of the line… As my awareness of my body grew, my awareness of my emotions and reactivity grew. I began to meditate and seek stillness in my heart and balance in my life. I noticed how much what I put in and around my body affected me and I changed some things about my lifestyle. As I became more comfortable in my body and my life began resembling my ideals, I sought out ways to serve my community and make the world a better place, because the connection between me and the guy in China became really clear. Then I got married and had a child.

Wow, talk about getting a spiritual teacher!

After Clara was born, my formal practice took a backseat and all those years on the mat and the cushion were channeled into being present for this new life. I used to think that if I didn’t practice formally for an hour a day, I wasn’t practicing. After Clara, I felt like I finally understood the reason we engage in formal practice at all!

Obviously, I am a Yoga practicioner. I love the practice of stepping on the mat and being fully present to my body and breath. It’s a beautiful practice, but it is just that: a practice. One of many, many practices that might call to us as unique individuals. The fundamental purpose of practice is to learn to show up with everything we have and allow life to open and change us.

Practice is not about transcendental moments of ecstacy. The real meat of the work is in living a practice by being the best of who we are, in each ordinary moment, everyday.