How many people do you know that spend all the hours God sends each week striving to earn money, to build status, to feel a sense of accomplishment in their lives, bring up families, live in the perfect home? How many times have you yourself felt far too busy to exercise, practice yoga, spend time on your own personal health & mental wellbeing?
I was guilty of exactly this. I was too busy, too stressed, too strapped for time. Working in a a demanding competitive environment in Central London, then bringing up five kids, it was hardly a big surprise to find myself suffering constant pain from a chronically bad back & increasingly finding myself living under the dark cloud of depression. I gradually began to read the writing that had been written on the wall for years. Despite earlier forays into various exercise regimes, pilates & yoga, I had never really appreciated that I needed these things not simply for physical reasons but for emotional ones. Not just for my sake but also for the other people in my life upon which my actions & mood were having an effect.
What is more important then happiness, health & peace of mind?
Slowly it began to dawn of me what my priorities were. I started to identify what was important to me & what wasn’t. My own health, peace of mind & happiness, finding more time to simply be there for others, had not been high on this list for a very long time. Yes of course I had been bringing up my children, it was exhausting. But I realised that I couldn’t ever truly be there for them & for others when I couldn’t even be fully there for myself.
I realised & not before time that it was tremendously important for me to re-evaluate my priorities. I began to find the time to cultivate my mind & body, to practice self-care, in other words to simply turn up for myself & my mental & physical wellbeing. For so long I had been ignoring myself.
Yoga helps us to work on our minds, bodies & our souls. It helps us to realise our true nature, our true self & yoga helps us to eventually come to appreciate that we are all part of something that is so much greater then ourselves. Something far more important than our own busy little worlds. Whether we believe in a higher power or not, yoga helps us to learn that we all have the potential for holding a divine light within us. Our own unique light is our personal gift to the world & Lord knows, this broken world could really do with some more love & light being shared around!
As a youngster at school we would sing a song that was always a favourite, maybe you know it – ‘This Little Light of Mine’? We would sing it in morning assembly at the top of our voices.
“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine,
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine,
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine,
let it shine, let it shine, let it shine all the time!”
Now as a grown adult I have at long last come to learn how important it is for myself & for others to really truly try & let my little light shine! Come join me for meditation, yoga & mindfulness classes, on a yoga retreat at home or abroad or on a walking & yoga weekend in beautiful nature. I’d love to help you get your little light to shine brightly!
Wishing everyone Peace, Love & Light
Namaste
Elisa
Elisa
