Who am I?

I am not my body,
but my body is where I live.
So my body becomes me too
as long as I dwell in it. 

It helps me to become aware of me,
the essence of me,
the life-force that is carried by the breath
that flows in and out of me.

This breath that carries me through days and nights
can tell me about who I am
and how I am doing.

When I slow down to notice
what and how it feels like
and search to find the why
it can help me discover
the truth of me,
who and why am I.

About a year ago now, I started practising Yoga regularly. First and foremost, I thought I was attending physical exercise classes and that the main benefit would be increased flexibility. On both counts, I was right, apart form the ‘first and foremost’ bit. There are many more benefits to be enjoyed, the first and foremost for me has become, for now, a treasuring of the gift of peace I received from the Prince of Peace.

So far, it has been a wonderful journey of discovery. In contrast to every other form of physical exercise where repetition and boredom eventually took its toll, this practice continues to challenge, surprise, enlighten and change me. Change is inevitable. Through practice I engage with the process and hope to make change purposeful and for the better.

My perception and understanding of what Yoga is has changed and increased massively during the last year. With a beginning point of little knowledge and experience, some misinformation and therefore misconceptions, this was indeed not difficult to achieve. At this point I still know little and I think I know that I know little, because I have practised  little. This sentence might seem overconvoluted, not unlike more advanced Yoga poses, but every word is necessary to convey what I want to communicate.

I purpose to share some of what I have discovered and learnt with whoever chooses to read my blog, because I have benefited so massively from developing a regular Yoga practice. This practice is a gift and tool for self-development, self-healing, self-knowledge and from that place authentic being and benefit to others and the world around in general. Maybe one of the most common maladies of our time is this lack of self-knowledge, this not knowing who we are. Jesus Christ will always be the foundation of my self-knowledge, the one who came from heaven to reveal our Father to us and redeem us to our true identity as children of God. This identity carries great responsibility and with it power and joy to first believe and then fulfil a destiny for good.

The first thing I learnt that changed my Yoga experience and from there my connectedness with my body, thoughts, emotions, dreams and plans, was to pay attention to my breathing. So simple, yet so powerful! Without breathing we cannot live very long (about 3 minutes), yet we take it for granted and are mostly unaware of the air flowing in and out of our bodies. There is much to learn. There is much to become aware of. With straining comes breathholding and this is not Yoga practice anymore. It’s like learning to tune into one’s own self, rather like tuning into a radio station or TV channel.

Back to breathing. Back to life.

What makes you feel more alive, more connected, more at peace? I’d love to hear from you!