Yoga Is Present In Everything!

Posted December 20, 2017

By Anne Weidinger E-RYT 200, RYT500

The longer you practice yoga, the longer you recognize that everything is yoga! Yoga is living. Yoga is connection. Yoga is balance- finding balance, forgetting balance, searching and rediscovering it all over again. When I teach I say that everything in life shows up on your mat- sensations, emotions, thoughts, failures, successes. It’s all there if you are ready to receive it. The practice is about observing yourself, loving yourself and reconnecting back to yourself. But it’s not enough to practice yoga on your mat a few times a week. How does your yoga practice inspire balance in your life? For me, I seek a well-balanced life- work AND play- which include my hobbies and passions off the mat.

What are my hobbies? Hiking, gardening, baking. I love to be outside. I love to walk- on a path in the middle of the woods or through my neighborhood. I love the feeling of fresh air in my lungs. I can connect to my breath and feel my heartbeat. I love the slow burn of hiking uphill and feeling badass at the end of it all! Gardening is another hobby. When I started gardening I was convinced I wouldn’t be able to do it. I second-guessed everything I edged and planted. But I kept at it- asking questions, planting seeds, watching and being patient. I still have at least one day every spring when I believe that the seeds I planted will not sprout! But so far, every year I am wrong. 🙂 Planting is the tactile sensation of working the earth and growing food and flowers. But for me, it’s also been a lesson in trusting myself and leaning on others for help. Baking is another passion I absolutely love to do (and eat!!). Mixing ingredients is meditation. When I bake I slow down. Baking is creativity within the structure of a basic recipe. I love giving away what I bake- so there a nurturing side to it as well. Baking is the feeling of coming back home. It is safety and comfort. Baking is love.

All of these hobbies are yoga practices. They inspire my practice and teaching. My yoga practice is a laboratory for observing and learning about myself as a seeker of a well-balanced life. I certainly don’t always get it right… (that’s what makes life interesting!). But when I do, I feel a simple, satisfying sense of happiness.