Why We Keep Practicing

As we work to eliminate racial injustice and witness so much brutality in response, I believe it’s as important as ever to focus on taking gentle care of ourselves and one another.

The breath is our first act on the planet, one of our deepest teachers and our most fundamental right. Our breath, our shared birthright, connecting us intimately and inextricably together. When one of us can’t breathe, we all struggle for air.

We keep practicing for times like these. We keep practicing to continue to cultivate the tools of our practice to help us reconnect with the truth of who we are and put these tools to use in actively creating a space of safety and refuge for those who have none.

The wisdom teachings of the Yoga Sutras remind us:

Our practice becomes firmly grounded by long constant efforts with great love.

The more consistently we practice, the deeper the benefits we experience, and the more reliably they will permeate our daily lives to support us and help us support those around us.

Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual tensions and stress separate us from one another and from our naturally spacious and loving hearts. The nurturing and rebalancing practices and principles of Yin Yoga & Meditation and Yoga Nidra support the release of tensions we carry and help us consciously and methodically unbuild the walls that grow within us that can block our shared light. They strengthen our capacity to respond from a place of peace with kindness and courage and humility.

Our practice helps us remember who we are and remember the way home, to ourselves, and to one another. Mother Teresa once said if we suffer, it’s because we’ve forgotten that we belong to each other. These practices remind us that the separate you and me is a mistaken idea, and we all rise together when we live as one in service and love.

The tools of these practices – deep relaxation, kind observation, mindful breathing, and release of reactivity – help us be a steady, calm, and stable presence even in the midst of tumult, unreservedly committed to upholding our shared humanity.

They strengthen our capacity to listen with ears and hearts wide open, ready to learn and respond with wisdom from a place of presence, love, and deep understanding to benefit every fellow human being.

May each breath we breathe be an opportunity to bring safety to those who have none, each moment a chance to actively be a place of refuge.

Black Lives Matter.

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