Returning to The Source: Cortney's Spiritual Journey
Anxious
Self-medicating
Incessantly right ALL the time
Egocentric
Negative
Angry
Irritated
Disconnected
I know what you are thinking…sign me up to be around that person!
Well, that person was ME, and unfortunately, that meant I got to hang with that person ALL the time through my early years into my late twenties.
Fortunately, life brought me opportunities for growth…lots of them.
And yoga and Reiki were my spiritual connections that shined the light on what was “real” during those times.
A decade of yoga has afforded me physical benefits such as: I can easily touch my toes, my blood pressure is an easy breezy 106/63, side crow is accessible on most days.
But, as I get older I quickly realize the real hurdles are:
· Can I watch my breath for a full 60 minutes without incessant brain chatter,
· is there an underlying sense of peace instead of anxiety in the back drop of my life,
· can I find a way to release the resistance that I’ve accumulated on my physical trail?
With yoga and Reiki, most days, the answer to these questions are a resounding hell YES!
Years ago, during my teacher training, I learned about the 8th and last limb of yoga: Samadhi. “The state in which you reach union with the divine”
I remember thinking...Seriously!? I want THAT.
Yoga and Reiki provide me with glimpses into this state of being; the more I practice the longer the glimpses last. Sometimes its only seconds, sometimes hours.
Life continues to bring me more opportunities for growth. Always at the perfect time.
Enter Yoga Squared…
After two years of not teaching yoga and only practicing at home, I found YS, a truly special community like none I’ve seen over the last decade.
And again, I began to grow and evolve.
The biggest shift is with my perspective…
I see glimpses of the “old” me in others’ stories, not the drunk or angry me, instead, now I see it for what it really is…the confused, disconnected me.
But it makes me happy, not sad because I know these souls are teetering on the edge of realizing their wholeness, their perfection, their freedom. Just as I am.
The Tao - my favorite spiritual text - says it best:
Watch the turmoil of beings,
But contemplate their return.
Each separate being in the universe
returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.
If you don’t realize the source,
you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
For me – yoga brings me back to that “common source!”
AND that’s why I’ve been having a full-on love affair with YS for the last 9 months. Because it has not only reignited my deep love for yoga and life (and my husband who just started practicing, can I get an Amen!!), I see it creating a space for so many to open to this transformation. Every single Yoga Squared teacher, I SEE YOU, and extend my sincerest gratitude for creating a space that allows us easy access to “returning to the source” as the Tao says.
The words from before having now shifted…
At ease
Clear and sober
You can be right this time (although my husband might say differently)
Mindful
Content, yet eager for more
Grateful
Connected
My spiritual connection, often found through the practice of yoga, has made me a better wife, a better sister, daughter, friend, employee, and my favorite…a better mom. (I love you Zach!)
All of you, the YS community, make me better just being in my life, whether you know it or not, because it’s our subtle exchange of energy that I feel and cherish!
AND that, my friends, is yoga!!
xoxo