Your Yoga Renaissance

In a workshop this past weekend, longtime teacher and author Richard Rosen said something that echoed my thoughts on about longevity in yoga (I’m paraphrasing here):

Progress in yoga is not linear. This is especially important to remember as we continue over time. We might go from a to b to c, then back to a, and even find ourselves at minus a.  The important thing to remember is that this is natural. Plateaus in yoga and even times when we seem to regress in our practice are to be expected. Furthermore, these are usually positive because it means we are shedding old patterns that no longer serve us, and with that have the opportunity to discover new possibilities for our practice.

Whether you are at point a, b, c or minus a, know that ALL of these places can be equally as interesting, rewarding and hold the same rich possibility for growth.

In many ways, continuing in yoga is simply about responding to what is. And ‘what is’ is always changing.

This is what I want all continuing students and teachers to know: If you feel uninterested in your practice, if you’ve plateaued, if you think yoga may not have anything more to offer you, know that there is nothing wrong. Not only that, you’re experiencing a natural evolution of your practice.

It is actually meant to happen.

Not because you’ve reached the end, but because you are ready to turn the page and initiate a new arc in your yoga.

You are on the cusp of unfolding a new landscape of practice.

I guarantee that if you continue there is more waiting for you. 

Last week I wrote about your yoga golden age, that wonderful phase when you fell in love with yoga, made breakthroughs, and were on fire for your practice.

Now, I’m here to tell you that YES,

You can begin a new chapter in your yoga practice, 

You can rekindle the spark, 

You can fall in love with yoga again, and in a new way. 

This has been true for me over the past 23 years. It hasn’t always happened in ways that I could have predicted, but it has never not happened. Each and every time I made the decision to reinvigorate my practice and re-up my commitment, I’ve made expansive breakthroughs, unveiled important and thrilling insights, and experienced greater, deeper enthusiasm for yoga as my path of inner discovery and self-knowledge.

This is why I can say with certainty, that if you are bored with your practice, it is a moment to be embraced. It is a threshold.

To know that seasoned practitioners like Richard share my conviction gives me great faith that yoga is a path for a lifetime. All it requires is a renewed dedication to doing it.  

The lilacs are blooming in Quebec this week. The renewing power of spirit is alive and well in nature and in you. And, spiritual growth, your “progress” on the path is NEVER about staying where you are, or doing the same things, or acting in the same ways. How could it be, when we are ever-changing, dynamic, exquisitely complex beings?

The truth is, yoga is ALWAYS about renewal. It’s about starting fresh again and again, becoming new at this very moment.

If you know its time to turn the page and begin to write the next chapter in your yoga story, to begin a new GOLDEN AGE of YOUR practice, to create a RENAISSANCE in your spiritual life and in your teaching, this August I’m hosting the perfect event for you.

http://www.barrierisman.com/teachers-retreat-summer-2018/