Everyday we struggle to find time for ourselves - to listen
to what our heart truly feels, what our mind wants to discover, what our eyes
wish to explore, what our ears can hear, and to experience the healing powers
of our touch.
Not everyday do we get to appreciate the benefits of just
being able to breathe.
Breathing sounds like a basic act that we often tend to
forget that breathing alone is a proven stress reliever.
We're in an age where we've trained our minds to focus on short
bursts of data, we're always fidgety --
always in a rush that we don't have time to fully take advantage of the powers
our own body possesses.
Today, I was blessed to have been re-introduced to the benefits
of breathing and mediation through a practice with my friend, Gwen.
Gwen founded "Nurtured Soul Yoga". If you
ask Gwen how her yoga journey began, she would say that it was "Divine
Intervention". She was at the point in her life (like most of us) when she needed
to figure out her purpose and passion. She
attended a retreat and was taken by the whole experience - she felt it was her
calling, a new way of life that she wanted to share such wonderful experience and
love. She'd even joke around by saying, "Yes, I drank the Kool Aid".
Gwen gently walked me through various breathing
exercises - finding the balance within.
At one point in the practice, she even reminded me to smile - something that added joy to the whole exercise. Yoga is a happy moment, so why do we tend to be so poker-faced?
During our practice, Gwen guided me to become aware of my body and helped me listen to
all my senses. Some people get intimidated by the magnitude of yoga because of the various poses that seem impossible to attain that people tend to be apprehensive about practicing it. Gwen made the practice more like an art that calmly and gently flows through you -- and just like her new found passion, the whole practice was like nurturing my soul.
If you want to know more about practicing with Nurtured Soul Yoga, please contact Gwen at NurturedSoulYoga.net.
May your journey be as blessed as my own.
Namaste.
This looks like a beautiful and calm way to spend an afternoon!
ReplyDeleteIt was a truly zen afternoon. Thanks Stephanie :)
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