Joining the 889 Community
By Jennifer Dwyer, 889 Yoga Teacher
I’ve been practicing yoga for almost 6 years now and I have to say that I just can’t wait to practice with all of you at 889! When I think back to my life before yoga, it always baffles me that I couldn’t understand why I was so miserable. It’s really not a hard question to answer (in hindsight). Why was I so sad? Because all of my energy was focused on what I didn’t have.
I operated from a place and lived each day in the mindset that nothing about my life was good enough. My body, my relationships, my personality, my appearance – it all had to be fixed before I could accept myself. I focused all of my attention on trying to pinpoint what exactly it was that was making me feel this way. I figured if I could just change that one thing, I would know what it really meant to be happy.
So I got busy making changes. I went to school. I left school. I lost weight. I gained weight. I was in a relationship. I was single. I switched jobs. None of the shifts I was making brought me the happiness that I was so desperately seeking.
Then I hit my yoga mat for the first time. With practice, I realized that the only thing I needed to change was my mind.
My daily practice put things into perspective. It left me feeling lucky to be alive instead of focusing on the many insignificant and sometimes significant problems that were making my life “hard”.
It can be so easy to get wrapped up in this way of thinking. Trust me, I was an expert for many years! We get roped into focusing on what we don’t have. We dwell on all that we wish we could change about others, our circumstances and ourselves and this, my friends, is exactly why we need yoga. It connects us to the power of gratitude. It reminds us to appreciate ourselves for who we are and where we are today instead of berating ourselves for not living up to our expectations of where we wish we could be. It shows us that even in the toughest of times, you always have something to be grateful for – even if it’s the simple fact that right here, right now, you are breathing.
In joining the 889 Team this week, I hope to share this little piece of what yoga has given me with you in my flow class at the King West location on Thursday nights from 6-7pm. It will be a challenging hour of connecting you to your body and inviting you to bring awareness to what you are focusing on in your life. Whatever you choose to put energy into gets bigger and I’ve experienced this in my life in both a negative and positive way. Your thoughts really do shape your life; let’s spend an hour together making them positive.
I look forward to connecting with each and every one of you. See you on your mat!
“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
– Eckhart Tolle
You can read more from Jenn on her personal blog {www.jenniferdwyer.ca} and on The Baptiste Blog {http://www.baronbaptiste.com/connect/} where she is Managing Editor.