The Yoga of Yogis
Yogis have been doing it for millennia, Madonna popularized it in the ’80s, movie stars keep it hip, children are learning how in school, we’re doing it… Are you practicing yoga?
“The practice, which connects body, mind and soul, has played a big role in binding the world too,” said the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, referencing the experience of wellness, harmony and wholeness not
only within ourselves, but within our world.
Yoga holds the intrinsic power to disintegrate linguistic and cultural barriers to unite people from all walks of life.
Now, perhaps more relevant than ever — whilst so much attention is being paid to differences in gender, race, nationality and belief — yoga offers an opportunity to celebrate our similarities, our union in humanity,
oneness.
Collectively, the world is awakening. People everywhere are turning to yoga not only as a form of exercise but as an alternative to the sort of experience sought in a church, temple or synagogue. Why? Yoga heals, prevents, simplifies, clarifies. Yoga offers sustainable change. Yoga is non-dogmatic. Yoga is inclusive.
The word YOGA means UNION — typically in regard to the mind, body and soul. But how about the union, or the yoga, of yogis? Globally we’re attending yoga workshops, retreats, festivals, teacher trainings — online classes count!
Whether inspired by our fav InstaYogis to try new poses, subscribe to new asana channels or order new pants, the “trend” of yoga has us listening harder, diving deeper, tuning into higher vibrations — beyond the pop culture, into the ancient science.
The popularity that has brought so many to the practice — students who may not have otherwise stumbled across this consciousness-expanding lifestyle that’s only recently become less elusive — is a blessing. And another form of union.
As a global community, we’re all practicing in unison. Together we are elevating the vibe of humanity.
We’re uniting, sometimes via the fashion industry built around the venerable tradition, for more than the leggings. Sure we like to look good in our apparel created from recycled plastic, but what we really want is to FEEL good, and for others to feel good too. We’ve all tasted the sweetness of a really scrumptious savasana – we want more and we will travel to the corners of the Earth (or the internet) to get it.
In a world where we communicate in captions, hashtags, and edited glimpses of our best foot/yogi toes forward, sometimes it seems that scrolling the newsfeed has become our mudra, the ping of a DM our mantra, any position from which we can view our screens our asana… But sometimes technology brings us into the present moment, and sometimes it unites us.
Our mats are the magic carpets that can make this great big world a little smaller, together.
“Yoga is feeling the connection with oneself and everyone around. Yoga is aspiring for the highest goal in the world — to feel one with everyone and with the divine.” — Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Anna Sugarman :: yoga teacher trainer, lifetime yoga student, glamorous gypsy, superstar philanthropist, academic goddess, happiness architect, courageous adventurer, love lover, adoring wife, new mother.
Catch up with Anna at her Website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Spotify.
