Quieting the Ego, Healing, and Expansion.
Forgiveness is often the hardest, yet most vital expression of compassion. Compassion cleanses the impurity of thoughts that lead to the unsettling of the mind. We all have trauma because we're human. Finding forgiveness and compassion for ourselves and others in those situations, whatever they may be, is often difficult. However, this sympathy for self and others, in a profound way, has the power to diminish our internal pain. The more that we are able to forgive and become compassionate, the more expansive we become.
I remember crying hysterically in the shower after my first email blast. My mentor/teacher at the time, a good friend, was trying to be helpful and sent me a text letting me know my error. I was overwhelmed with wanting to be perfect that it shattered me. The overinflated ego getting in the way of shining bright was holding me back from being my best self, aligned and connected to source, happy in just being.
Diminishing this inner critic, permission to forgive, it all starts with self, of course. This desire to prove worthiness and strive for perfection trips us up and leaves us with feelings of failure, disappointment, envy and lack. We are all going through life with similar struggles, often the same emotions. It's how we are able to relate with others so easily. We are more alike than different. We all make mistakes, fall down and fail sometimes.
When we realize that we are not less than, then we are able to be compassionate and forgive ourselves, accept our shortcomings, and move on. We find the emotional capacity to be with imperfection, to embrace vulnerability and feel the pain of being imperfect and loving ourselves even more.
Growing our love of self, compassion for self, caring for self, then trickles out into how we lead. We must master the skill of fostering within our own hearts this compassion and leading from this heartfelt place. It is a practice that we learn through experience and developed awareness. Through practice, we figure out when it's necessary for us to be tough, and when we need to soften.
This practice is neverending.
““Control the breath. Focus your mind. And direct it into the heart. That is the meaning of Spirituality.””
Just when you think you have it all done, when you think you've been processing your whole life, you come up to another wall that you need to break through. Having a good coach in these moments can be life-changing. An outside person, outside perspective, who can help you see where those energetic blocks are.
There is beauty in coming together, compassionately engaging in meaningful interactions with others that lead to breakthroughs and deep change.
Recently, I had my own wall that needed breaking through. In conversation with my mentor, he said: “How about finding that same love and compassion that you have for your son and your garden, for your mother?” That's when the flood gates opened and I was able to process my own inner forgiveness. I realized just through that one simple statement that I wasn't giving my mother the same love and compassion. The heart started expanding. The compassion, the forgiveness, the understanding all became part of that healing. In essence, you will find your own details. Mine may be different from yours and my processing may be different from yours.
“In a private session with Tah, she simply asked me to imagine something that I dreamed of. Tears started pouring uncontrollably over something seemingly so simple. I felt immense guilt and shame in myself for not being able to dream. I didn't know how I had got to a place in life where I didn’t even know myself or what I desired. With Tah’s help, I was able to forgive and love myself. She opened my eyes to a new way, where I could come in alignment with who I am and awaken my desires.”
- Savannah I.
What helps me connect to profound moments like I had with my mentor, these opportunities for explosive healing are because of my yoga practice.
When practicing pranayama, meditation, asana, or other yogic practices, we develop an incredible awareness of the body, mind and soul. Awareness of breath is one of the clearest ways to develop this self-compassion. Breath will reflect the true emotions and thoughts, seeing through the ego. Expanding our compassionate responses reshapes our nervous system and cultivates this inner alignment and beauty of understanding of others.
These epiphanies come easier with the help of an outside perspective. Compassion is one of the keys to our Yoga Teacher Training starting in January 2022.
