Beloved You!

Welcome to February, the month where weather can be unpredictable, two days are missing, and is devoted to celebrating love.  We cannot do anything about the weather, or find those two days, but we can celebrate love.  Each week, our beautiful teachers will be sharing their favorite recipes, ideas for safe care, favorite moves, etc. to assist in deepening self love practices.   

 So lets talk about love….. I believe Love is a spiritual practice, it goes beyond emotions and feelings, love blooms from within, from the love of oneself.  Without self-love, love of others can be conditional, usually based on parts of our self that have not  been accepted, therefore not loved.  When emotions begin to rise up and my focus and emotions move outward, I pause, breathe and ask myself “what is it that I need at this moment.”   This was a difficult practice for me in the beginning, I never asked myself that question.  The first few times there was no answer, but the power of connecting inwards, brought me comfort, compassion and empathy towards myself.  Empathy is the ability to understand another person’s thoughts and feelings in a situation from their point of view, rather than your own.  The other person was my true being, not the ego.  Within each person, every soul, there is truth, a light, an innate knowing of pure goodness, our true selves.  When the connection is made, we remember, our heart speaks to us.   

Which is why I love the word “beloved,” to me it is a combination of precious, adored, cherished and revered encased by sacredness.  It is not a common word I hear a lot of today, but to hear someone say those words, I would imagine that the person saying it to someone has said it to themselves also.  They have an experience of the beloved within.   

 The philosophy of yoga and Ayurveda teaches that nothing is permanent, everything changes.  We change. The only constant is knowing who we are.  Yoga is the path to self -realization, which leads to understanding, which leads to compassion/empathy, which leads to love.  

 February’s weather may be unpredictable, snow, freezing winds, and temperature changes, but it serves as a sign as a reminder that spring is beginning to emerge.  

Love is the spiritual prescription to counter the personal problem of fear. Rent the video Defending Your Life.  After an accident, Daniel (Albert Brooks) finds himself in a place called Judgment City where he watches episodes from his life projected on a screen. He sees how constant anxiety has ruled his behavior and prevented him from being able to have meaningful relationships. Then he meets Julia (Meryl Streep), a radiant and confident woman, and he gets another chance to move from fear to love.