Whether you are new to yoga or have been practicing for many years, we all have a “moment.” A moment where something shifted and our practice allowed us to see ourselves and the world around us in a different way. There was a moment where we fell out of a pose and laughed, and it was everything. A moment that showed us we’re stronger than we realized. A moment where we finally kicked up into headstand on our own and couldn’t believe it. A moment where we could finally let it all go and just be.
That “moment” is different for everyone, and this summer we want to celebrate YOUR yoga moments. We also want to acknowledge the many yoga studios all over the world that make so many incredible yoga moments possible. Want to share your yoga moment with us? Here’s how.
This week’s Yoga Moment comes from Anna Garrido during her practice at Mandiram in Barcelona, Spain.
I’ve had many “special moments” in yoga throughout the years. I will never forget the first time I did Sirsasana on my own, after months of practice. I couldn’t stop smiling, and I had to control myself not to laugh aloud and tell everyone in the room what I just did!
But the most beautiful shifting moment I have had in yoga was in Savasana. I was attending a teachers’ training, and we did a “yoga for kids” session. I loved the teacher: she was joyful, loving, and full of light. In savasana, after the very fun class we had had, everything was moving inside me, but I was very relaxed. She read a few words and then asked us to repeat these words internally: “I love myself. Exactly as I am now. I love myself so much. I respect myself. I totally love myself.” When I tried to say that, I surprisingly realized I wasn’t able to say those words to myself. There was a block inside me that didn’t let me say, “I love myself!”! Suddenly, I was aware of my lack of self-esteem. I fell into tears. I silently cried for minutes, releasing an enormous weight I had carried for years. I felt terribly sad to see all my pain, but at the same time I felt deeply happy and grateful to see the truth and to feel that something had shifted inside me. At the end of savasana, for the first time in a very long time—and although it was almost painful—I was able to say, slowly, carefully, and very lowly, “I love myself.”
