After our Vancouver trip, a beast has been unleashed within me. Vacations are not only good for the soul, they’re NECESSARY. I have been happily toiling away at this little thing called blue door for so long, I forgot what happens when you change the scenery. I forgot how everything is shiny and new again. I forgot how the creative juices begin to flow. I forgot how rejuvenated you feel.
Students and I often have discussions about what yoga does for you. I always tell them it should create a sense of spaciousness. I’m finding that vacations do the same. What is spaciousness? How do I define it? I’m glad you asked 😊
Spaciousness is the opposite of tightness (duh, right?). Let me expound. When I feel all tight and constricted inside—body, mind, breath, soul—everything, on the outside, feels like its closing in on me. I’m unable to make good decisions, I’m unable to breathe fully, I’m unable to move with ease, I’m unable to get a rejuvenating sleep, I’m unable to feel complete joy…and on and on and on.
The reason we do yoga is to release this constriction. Who would have thunk that ADDING something onto your list would make your list feel more manageable, but that’s how yoga works. By getting quiet, you begin to make more space in your life and cut out the things that no longer serve you. You begin to see with more clarity to, then, move towards things that fill you with joy. You begin to breathe with more fullness which balances your hormones and makes you healthier. You begin to sleep more deeply which allows you to have more clarity as you move through your day. And the cycle continues and grows.
Vacations do EXACTLY THE SAME THING. I’m so sad that it took me so many years of constricted living to realize this, but now that the genie has been let out of the bottle, just you wait, I will be vacationing all the time! Get ready blue door! And, if you haven’t heard, we have an Italian Retreat coming up in Summer 2024.
Xx
Jesi
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