Vulnerability Is the Way to True Peace & Joy

When we were children, there was an openness we had, everything was new & we experienced the moment, fully. We hadn't been tainted by life & the hardships of it. We were curious, vulnerable, open to all that was around us.

Over time, things happened to each of us, that made us question being "open", because we got hurt in some way. As we got older, we learned to protect ourselves. Over time, these protections began to build into walls to keep ourselves safe, to protect ourselves from getting hurt. Now, we do need to have boundaries, a way of staying safe. But, quite often, we take a way to protect ourselves from true dangers & apply it to everything. It becomes a way to stop from experiencing life. We find it hard to decipher what a true danger is from something that is not truly dangerous. It's important to ask ourselves "Are these walls we build really keeping away what hurts us, or are we growing allowing fear to grow because we hide behind the walls? Is there a better way?" We move through life trying to find happiness & avoid hurt. Can we not learn to feel everything, without judging good or bad & just respond to make our way through?

In yoga, we can use our practice to find a way reconnect with our child self, find that innocence again. One term for this is "Beginner Mind". As we practice, we don't come in with preconceived notions or expectations, but experience what comes up in each moment, just as it is. In this innocence, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable & open enough to feel in the moment. We see that vulnerability is a strength, NOT a weakness. By allowing ourselves to feel unconditionally & learning to move through instead of avoid the emotional charges we have built up, we can transition to living our authentic life.

I love sharing my thoughts, but often, there are words already written by great teachers like Sally Kempton, that are more eloquent than my own. See her take on this in the article below.

"Learn to be vulnerable in your yoga practice rather than using your practice to mask emotion." Sally Kempton

https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/protective-services

Attached, you'll see a picture of a lovely Buddha that YogaMcc has for sale in their store. He is standing in a way that is so open that you see the Joy & Peace shining out of him.

When you are brave enough to be vulnerable, your ownTrue Nature of Joy & Peace will resonate out into the world. Just looking at his smiling face & open heart, reminds me of what yoga should be about & feel like.

If you struggle with these ideas, or just would like to practice more on connecting to your vulnerability as a way to become stronger, why not join me for a 3 hour workshop

on Sat Oct 21 1-3pm at YogaMcc

Go to http://www.yogamcc.com/upcoming-workshops for more information or to register.