Scroll through social media and it seems so, but what is yoga!
Ok I'm going to honest here when I first found Instagram (several years ago) and the yoga community there I jumped on the band wagon and joined lots of the yoga challenges. Taking pictures of poses and posting them daily. Check out my Instagram feed it's all there - yogamovement_sash_gainsborough. I guess I was looking for a sense of belonging. The pictures where solely about making the shape of the yoga pose. Will I fit in to this yoga world better if my poses look better. I pushed myself to attain better looking poses. It always left me with a sense of what do these pictures say about my practice. I was looking for external validation that my yoga was "good enough". Then my body started to hurt and I got a couple of yoga related injuries - minor but enough to make me reflect take stock and then pursue a more authentic journey of honouring me and not being bothered by how it looks outwardly. I stopped doing yoga challenges on Instagram.
Does it matter about attaining more in the pose or is it about being happy with the practice and the process. Is the practice about truly listen to the body, mind and maybe the soul.
Can you take a picture that truly reflects self awareness and self acceptance? A picture that shows the inner work and healing that the process of yoga brings!
The two pictures on this blog are both me and were taken approximately 8 years apart. Can you tell the difference. In which picture am I honouring myself and the practice of yoga the most - Both - neither. Which is the older picture, which the more recent!