How Yoga has taught me courage ~ by Dimi

I would like to keep this brief, as I know the articles about health and healing can be an endless essay filled with background stories and how-tos.

This isn’t going to be the case, as I want the yoga that’s taught me simplicity and lightness to transfer into this piece of writing.

Stepping out of comfort zones is something we all hear about, and I believe many of us do get there eventually when we know we can no longer carry on the way we have always carried on. Anyone’s life can change in an instant, sometimes all it takes is one decision, and my decision was to start practicing yoga.

Just like everyone else in life, I was struggling with myself. I always played it cool and brave, but the truth was that I was deeply afraid of everything; from messing up pages in my sketchbookto confronting someone on why my feelings were hurt. I was comfortable with my life, though, as I had everything I could have asked for; a degree, loving family, a home; not knowing that I desperately needed to get out of whatever story I was telling myself that was keeping me in a constant state of fear. 

Stepping out of comfort zones is something we all hear about, and I believe many of us do get there eventually when we know we can no longer carry on the way we have always carried on. Anyone’s life can change in an instant, sometimes all it takes is one decision, and my decision was to start practicing yoga.

My mother has been on the mat for as long as I can remember, and I noticed how she had changed because of it. She was much lighter, happier, and always excited to talk to me about yoga, and though she tried her hardest to get me to flow with her, I refused. I didn’t enjoy downward this and twisted that because I had “too much energy”. I couldn’t sit still at all, but once I started my practice, holding poses, and doing the things I didn’t want to do simply because they challenged me, my life began to shift. I didn’t learn it until later when I went to India, that how we approach our poses in yoga is how we approach situations in our everyday life. Making choices, rushing, cooking, walking, designing… whatever it is you do, I invite you to look at yourself and see what are your own responses to the events that take place in your life. Are you restless? Do you judge yourself? Do you compare yourself to others? It is ok to look at yourself, especially when you’re trying to understand yourself.

I will refrain from going into details about all the negativity I felt at the beginning of starting yoga, but at the beginning, I wanted to be the best in that studio, not intimidated by any crazy thing the instructor called out, no sooner than later my ego was immediately shredded when I saw the yogis around me. Over time and with much self-awareness, these were a few of the lessons I learned:

When one holds a balancing pose, it teaches them to trust the ground beneath their feet and to feel the strong limbs that they are so beautifully blessed to have. 

When one holds a twist, it teaches them that judgment will only hold them backfrom where they want to be.

When one holds a hip opening pose, it teaches them that pain is inevitable but suffering is optional.

When one holds an inversion or backbend, it teaches them that life can be seen from multiple perspectives; that there is no one truth. 

When one floats in a silk hammock, it teaches them that play-time is highly beneficialfor something that runs deeper than themselves.

When one recognizes one's breath, it teaches them that they hold the powerin every aspect of their life.

With these realizations, I have been able to walk alone and up high with no fear, move to far off lands in hopes for even more soul-shaping, speak my truth even if it meant people walking away, and most importantly, finding the courage to be completely and utterly myself without judgment from my internal self as well as from external sources. 

I cannot tell anyone when yoga taught me these lessons, especially when it came to my irrational fears about dying at any moment, getting struck by lightning, messing up a doodle, or looking goofy in front of others, but I will say it is not something that happened overnight. I have been doing yoga for almost three years now, and if it is possible for something as simple as stretching for an hour every day to change my life so drastically in such a short amount of time, I cannot wait to see what the future holds as I continue my yoga journey.

Dimi is a Greek-American yogi, explorer, and graphic designer living in Athens, Greece. With her heart as her guide, she is always on the move, enjoying life and taking in her experiences.

Growing up around story tellers, she finds she can best express herself through writing her own stories and hopes to touch her audience with humor, positivity, and inspiration.

www.dtrovas.myportfolio.com