In Alignment

Friends,

As an anatomy teacher for yoga professionals, I get a lot of questions about alignment. Last weekend, I heard this definition of alignment that was so fascinating, I have been pondering it ever since.

“You know that you are living in alignment when everything that you say is a true reflection of what is in your heart.”

So simple. And yet, so hard for many of us to do 100 percent of the time.

Many of us find it difficult to voice what is in our hearts. We swallow our words. We say “nice things” instead of true things. We don’t speak up for ourselves, for others, for our values.

The more we practice yoga, the more we become aware of that still small voice; what I call "the knowing.”

Soon, and by that I mean, perhaps, years later, it doesn’t feel “right” to live out of alignment. To silence that voice or not pay attention to those whispers would be a disconnection inside. I believe that this is what causes suffering and dis-ease in the mind.

As we cultivate the connection of our mind, body and spirit, we can begin to tune in and listen to the small whispers in our hearts. One day, we realize that they were never really separate to begin with. The body is the mind and life happens in the body.

When we integrate these three aspects of ourselves, then we live with integrity and in harmony.

Your speech is the articulation of your heart. So when your act from your heart, from a place of love, and your mind is at ease, only truth comes out of your mouth.

It is a practice.

The photo above is of Purna Hridaya Mudra. It is the Gesture of the Open Heart and works on the psycho-emotional level of your being. Practice it this week to begin to open the subtle heart and find the connection of quieting the mind and filling the heart space.

Wishing you a week full of love and joy,

Kari