Spirituality and faith
I have been hovering over this topic for the last two months both in my head and asking yogis: what does spirituality mean for you?
Faith, belief and spirituality. Are they entwined?
When I started attending my glorious teacher classes (under Acharya Upendra Roy), that’s when I truly started to believe in my core that yoga was my calling. He would commence each class with a guided relaxation. After each session I was always just so surprised. How did I relax? Where did my thoughts go? I felt so light in my body and mind. How could this mental burden – my head space – become vacant? My heart was rejoicing in this experience.
I was such a physically inclined individual but what made me continue the path of yoga was how uplifting it was for my spirit. After stretching the limits of how hard I pushed my body in my 20’s, I repeated that pattern on and off for another decade. Yoga taught me that the physical body is just one part of the equation of who we are.
My faith is a strong part of who I am. I believe in God (probably a weird statement to write about). But our faith is our personal compass that we steer to either daily, or when we are in need. Faith for me is also believing in myself. Believing that my actions do not only affect me, but create a ripple effect on the lives of others.
I believe in being the best person I can be (don’t worry, I pull myself up when i’m a bitch!) We all have that side. The “not that nice” side. A lot of times that can be solely directed towards ourselves, and our self-talk can be brutal, negative and unnecessary.
Faith is magical. We look at the sun and all the colours it can transmit at all the different times of the day. Plant life. Animals. When a dog stops and looks at you, it has faith that you will pat it.
Faith is daily. Please I hope I get that job, pass that test, that my cake turns out, that I won’t be stuck in traffic.
Faith is everywhere. Constant.
Faith in a yoga class has helped me through teacher training, and faith helped me in deciding where and how will I start teaching. Faith is with me daily. I believe that the universe is on my side. Wow – I’ve been in business for one more week, one more month, one more year (actually, 14 years!) But I take nothing for granted. Ever.
Spirituality is my body, my heart, my breathing, my understanding, my soul, all entwined. I’m a miniscule dot of life, in this living web. I’m a spirit of joy and love.
Spirituality, I believe, is everywhere, in every living matter on this planet as well as life gone.
In a yoga class we’re constantly shifting energy. Physical, emotional and spiritual.
What is beyond this earth, beyond what can be touched, measured or tampered. Spirituality is how we live our lives this moment, how we respect all living beings on this planet, how we honour life gone and life that will come.
Below are some beautiful writings of students about this topic. Some are anonymous.
I will also print more with January’s blog. I loved reading what people reflected. Deeply touching and moving. Thank you.
Xxxx Eleni
Romina:
“I love the topic you have chosen to write about, Spirituality and Faith. I think this is so relevant at this moment in our existence, because we have had plenty of opportunities to investigate, defend, choose, be part of, accept, feel one belongs to a specific faith and this is often associated with religious beliefs. I think today humanity is ready for an open discussion, and more so in Australia where our faith is so varied, of course among those with similar beliefs one can discuss more openly, but as we go about our day and mix with people from all walks of life and realize that we are more similar than we think, our spirituality becomes a stronger connection, a bridge where we can meet half way, because we all have a spirit. Spirituality for me is an invitation to uncover who I am in this physical world, to remember what I came here to do, to discover my spiritual gifts and share these, its an introspective journey. Faith on the other hand, has changed meaning for me as I got older. Faith for me was the exploration of the spirit through religion, in my case Roman catholic as this is what I was exposed to as a kid, however when I got older I became curious about other belief system, hence I read about these. So, in a way this exploration of faith lead me to spirituality and, today I see faith as a joint concept, faith in our personal journey where the mind, heart and words are aligned with love and our truth, we express our spirituality, our God like energy which creates an open space where differences are not important. We are one, we are everything, hence in my personal journey I like to remind myself that where I was born and all I am exposed/conditioned to are opportunities to peel the layers and learn more about myself. Anyways bella, I have to get ready for work, I love opening my heart and talking about life, its meanings and many colours. Thanks for giving us an opportunity to share with you a bit more about ourselves. I am a big fan of ur magical spirit, keep shining your light! Love you!
Janet:
Anne Marie:
