Hi there!
I think every January we get overwhelmed by emails and promotions saying something along the lines of, ‘New Year, New You’, implying there is something wrong with how you are now.
What an interesting marketing technique. Guilt you into doing something by devaluing who you are today. If you’re anything like me, a few 4-letter words run through my head anytime I see a marketing campaign that tries the guilt approach to earn my dollars and my time. I can make myself feel guilty all by myself, thank you very much! I don’t need your help.
Our culture is already submerged in ‘compare-culture’. Instead of keeping up with the Jones’, now we have an Insta-hood to feel less than or insecure. No more comparing yards, now its feeds. And if you don’t participate in social media, my hat off to you-save yourself the headache.
At the studio, our practice and our teachers are constantly reminding you to ‘meet you where you are’. This isn’t some coined phrase, this is genuinely how each MSY teacher feels! I am SO proud to work with a group of people committed to cultivating a space where students can be in the body they have today. And what an interesting body each of you have. Layers of experiences accumulate inside the container that is you!
Our practice is the last place we need to feel less-than because no other body has had the same history as you have had. No other body feels in the same way you do. And each person gets to identify their experiences for themselves-its only the job of the teacher to provide suggestions in an attempt to give you something new to think about, hopefully deepening what you already experience. Its called yoga practice, not perfection.
I look forward to another year of continued connection and practice. May all our journeys on this rock be long ones,
~Carmen