While yoga has done fantastic things for my body, it’s biggest payouts have been in much larger ways: to my mind, heart and soul. Through yoga I have learned how to deepen my grounding and find stability that serves me everyday, in large and small ways. The strength, flexibility and grace I experience in my practice all flows from a good foundation. The more I practice, the more this deepens. The deeper I grow these roots, the more stable my everyday life has become.
Coming off a day spent thinking about survival training, and waking to a week that starts with a horrific mass shooting in Vegas, the importance of my everyday practice is solidified that much more. The ability to find grounding and stability in our thoughts and emotions can be the make or break a survival situation, for sure, but today it serves me by helping me sort out my feelings processing this horrific event. It allows me to be sad, but not get swept away in my sadness. It allows me to recognize potential danger, but not overreact as a response. It reminds me that when I work to fully cultivate all of the gifts I have been given, I will react more from a place of controlled awareness then of passive, blind reaction.
These skills are not just for survival situations…these same skills serve me everyday. Each day we must decide how we want to live, and make choices to support that end. Whether it is how we manifest our ambition, what types of relationships we want to co-create, or any other goals, solid grounding and foundation helps us not only dream it, but do it. Without a solid foundation, we get distracted. We react blindly. We let fleeting emotions make long-term decisions or keep us stuck, unable to find movement or growth.
And while cultivating these skills has payouts in our everyday lives, it is also a practice that can serve when unexpected disaster, trauma or danger strikes. My practice is a part of my survival toolkit, and quite honestly, the lightest item in my go-bag… :-)
The deeper we build our roots, the harder it is to shake our foundation. The more we ground in our own inner gifts, strengths and capabilities, the more control we have over our reactions to unforeseen circumstances. The stronger our foundation, the more we can be of service to others, and affect change where needed.
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