Insights from 20 Years of Teaching Yoga
How it all began...
T-shirt from Breathe Pilates original artwork by Frankie Twiggs
In March of 2002 my mom was diagnosed with terminal metastatic breast cancer. It was her third time battling the disease and it had spread to her brain and changed her personality. A seizure and emergency brain surgery brought her back from death and returned her personality to almost normal. We had a few special months together before she passed.
At the time of her diagnosis, my dad was already a couple years into his 5 year max timeline of managing prostate cancer. So, I moved home to care for my parents. The youngest of three siblings, and the only one who wasn't married with kids, it made perfect sense. If I moved in with them, my parents could stay out of the hospital and be comfortable at home with Hospice (can't say enough good things about Hospice and the work they do- but that's for another blog). So at 28 I moved back home.
They were both on the clock ~ you live life a little more fully when you know your time is ending. When my mom passed in December 2002, my dad was still feeling well and embarked on his farewell tour, visiting dear friends in England to say goodbye, He welcomed visitors and family at the house in Connecticut where they had retired just four years earlier. We looked through old photos. We reminisced about all the countries we'd lived in and the adventures we'd had. He told me about when he was young before he met my mom. I told him about my hopes and dreams. He was a wonderful father, he lived a great life and passed just 18 months after my mom.
My parents' illness was the catalyst that changed my life. I knew if I didn't change my lifestyle, that in 30 short years I could be terminal just like my mom. I definitely wanted to make it was past 60 years old! I started running and practicing yoga. My first group class was with October Rose at Synergy Yoga, where I would return in 2005 for my first Yoga Teacher Training with Gaia Buddhai. I was not just going to study yoga, I was going to become a teacher. That way I would have to make it a priority, I would have to show up and be accountable. Otherwise, I knew it would just be something I "should" do and find excuses not to do... I quit smoking, began eating more vegetables and learned to cook healthy, nutritious, cancer fighting meals.
Honestly, I didn't even know what yoga really was- I knew it was deep, more than physical postures. But, what exactly was yoga? I had no clue. So, after 20 years of teaching and practicing yoga I have learned that people can change. I am more flexible in my mind and my body, and yet I still have so much to learn. Now I rely on my practice- in good times and bad- it is there to bring me back to balance, to my center, to remind me what really matters. As BKS Iyengar so eloquently said, ""The light that yoga sheds on life is something special. It is transformative. It does not change the way we see things; it transforms the person who sees".
Insights
The only thing you can control is your own reaction. It may not be easy, but it is possible and worth your time & energy to learn how.
Everyone has tight shoulders and/or tight hips. Being inflexible is an excellent reason to take up yoga - not a deterrent.
Comparison is the enemy of joy. That flexible person needs strength. The strong person needs flexibility. Everyone has something to do!
We are here to learn and be of service to each other. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you raise your consciousness.
The Beatles had it right. Love is all you need.
No one is perfect, but you can be perfectly aware, awake and clear.
Some days you will not feel like practicing. Practice anyway, you will always be glad you did. "I wish I hadn't taken that yoga class", said no one, ever.
Yoga connects your body and your mind in the now. When you are in this state, there is no stress.
Keep practicing. No one can teach you the secrets of yoga, you have to discover them yourself through your practice.
Namaste, dear friends and I hope to see you soon!
Love,
Di
