Love is my religion

Around the holidays talk of religion increases.

What are you celebrating with your family? 

Where are you going?

What are you doing?

Regardless of whether you believe in Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, or Judaism there are important and vital commonalities that go hand and hand with every religion. 

Religion by definition is:  a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spiritualityand, sometimes, to moral values.^[1] Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to givemeaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestylefrom their ideas about the cosmos and human nature. ( THANKS WIKIPEDIA)

Two and a half years ago when I embarked on my Yoga Teacher Training at South Boston Yoga, I had no idea that it would be so life changing. For those of you who know me...I AM NOT A BULLSHITTER.

The Body Awakening Teacher Training was just that. It was about delving deep within yourself to become a better person and secondarily a better teacher.  Patanjali and the Eight Limbs of Yoga taught me more about life than anything else I had ever been exposed to. It actually made sense.  These steps were the guide to living a meaningful and purposeful life.  Not only do they address moral and ethical conduct, the importance of self- discipline, they also take HEALTH into account.  Together these eight limbs have undeniably provided me with the most spiritual guidance in all of my 28 years.

On occasion I get asked whether I go to church on Sunday. I thought about this for quite sometime.  I go to my yoga studio every Sunday morning :) 

I have concluded that Yoga is my church and Love is my religion.

There is never a Sunday morning that goes by where I don't leave my studio feeling peaceful, content, balanced, grateful,  or as I like to call it " BLISSED OUT."

Friends and family can tell when I haven't gotten my yoga in. I am not myself. I am more anxious and stressed out.  I begin to let the chaos of everyday life affect me negatively, I get caught up in the thoughts in my head.

Since I am a trainer first and foremost people come to me and ask what yoga can do for them. 

My immediate thought is "What can't yoga do for you?!!??"

But they want to know if yoga can "tone" your arms and strengthen your core. 

I have learned to think before I speak. 

Honestly I don't think of yoga as exercise anymore.

I think of yoga as a path to get more out of life...perhaps everything you could ever want.