This is my yoga body. It is not the kind of yoga body you’d see in the pages of Yoga Journal, or advertising high priced yoga clothing. It is mine. My yoga body is capable, it is stretch marked & scarred, it is dimply and tattooed. My yoga body loves deeply, and pleasures greatly. My yoga body has grown and nursed three babies and continues to provide warmth and softness to three girls who are growing up far too quickly.
My yoga body holds a little bit of extra weight because I eat food that nourishes me, fills me, and makes me feel comforted - plants only. My yoga body makes the conscious choice not to eat the bodies of other beings. After many years of yo-yo dieting, binge eating, food restriction, and stress about eating the “optimal” diet - my yoga body is no longer worrying about how many carbs, fats & proteins I eat and is now making conscious healthy choices to eat food that feels nourishing, is healthy and is whole.
Some days my yoga body feels strong and capable and other days it feels like lead. Some days getting on the mat is easy, and other days it feels defeated by practice. My yoga body struggles with meditation. My yoga body has been labelled ADHD - because it is creative, energetic, passionate, and there are way too many ideas happening (all the time)! I’d not have it any other way.
When I get on my mat, my yoga body brings me to stillness, and my movement becomes a meditation. My yoga body’s thoughts fall to the background and I feel so alive, so free, and so LUCKY to have this body.
I’m not going to criticize my yoga body for not being what I think it should be, for not looking like the media tells me it should. I’m not going to deprive my yoga body of the love it deserves, and the nourishment it needs. Because this body is housing something awesome - it’s housing Me! It’s the temporary embodiment of my Being. Temporary. Why would I spend so much time hating, criticizing, and wishing my body were something different to what it is? My yoga body allows me to experience life on earth - the great joys, and the deepest sorrows. My yoga body takes me to incredible places and introduces me to incredible beings. Most importantly, my yoga body loves deeply & passionately. It longs for the embrace of my lover, to join in with the joyful laughter of my children, and to hold the hands of my mother & father as their own bodies change with age.
This is a promise to my yoga body. A promise to love it, to treat it with kindness and compassion. To keep it healthy and strong. To do my best to nurture this temple with positivity, and acceptance of each and every passing moment. A promise to give my body the gift of my soul’s presence so that I can train it to express and show the world my authentic self, to let my light shine brightly through my eyes and through my words every day. And don’t worry yoga body - I will give you chocolate, plenty of chocolate, that you can be assured. Until the day you can no longer house me and I must move on - you will drink the sweet ambrosia of my love.
