OLYMPIC National Park | Forest Yoga
I absolutely adore working with yoga practitioners. While our time together on the Olympic Peninsula was unexpectedly last minute and short lived, it was super in the flow, very powerful, and connected.
Kym is doing amazing things with her business and I'm stoked to contribute to her branding efforts as well as adding to her personal legacy with these gorgeous images.
It's hard to fathom that she had been evacuated by the Dixie Fire days before these were captured. At the time the outcome was uncertain. Thankfully, their home was spared. Strong, grounded, and steady, this one.
You go, Kym Coco!
While I am here, I would like to dig into some off the mat yoga practice that I think may help with quality of life beyond moving through physical poses. Because life is wild right now and people seem to be more negative these day.
Let's get into it.
I think it is pretty safe to say that, collectively, it is clear that we are all feeling varying levels of discomfort in multiple areas of our lives. The pandemic has shaken people up in ways unfamiliar, routines disrupted, fear, uncertainty, multidimensional loss, topped with frustration, anger, disappointment and so many other strong emotions. Right?
I have been working through my own stuff, I am circling back around to my favorite yoga sutra practices.
Sutra 1.33 is such a simple mindfulness exercise to return to, even if only to check in.
If you are unfamiliar, The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali is the foundational text on the principals, theory, and classical practice of yoga.
The Yoga Sutras were compiled in the early centuries, by Patanjali in India, who digested and organized the yoga knowledge from much older traditions. Collectively, there are 195 Sutras.
I'd like to point out that while it may be true that yoga is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It is important to realize that in practice, yoga can be a wonderful accompaniment to whatever religion you choose. If this is something you would like to investigate further, you can find a Christian/Catholic perspective Here and a Muslim perspective Here.
I repeat, Yoga is NOT a Religion.
Yoga Sutra 1.33 4 Locks | 4 Keys
Kindness to those who are happy
Compassion for those who are less fortunate
Honor for those who embody noble qualities
Equanimity to those whose actions oppose your values.
Nishala Joy Devi - The Secret Power of Yoga
The Lock: Jealousy
The Key: Kindness
Kindness to those who are happy
In practice, this one is both readily available and simple to execute.
It's so easy to fall into the bad habit of comparing your life to others, followed by feeling less than, or not doing enough, and creating a very low key bitterness toward other's whose lives appear perfect.
If you suffer from bouts of depression, you are likely aware that it can be very hard to be happy about anything. Chances are, you may feel like a fake when getting started with this. Part of the answer to this is Yoga and then, more yoga, and perhaps even some Olympic National Park action.
Surprisingly, the practice of this lock and key eventually resulted in the complete and total uninstallation of negative emotions. Particularly, jealousy. Jealousy is sneaky and manifests in different ways. While I am not a particularly jealous or covetous individual by nature, it sure can be exacerbated by manipulation.
Thankfully, as a result of this practice, jealousy is a feeling I have not had access to in years.
However, when you start realizing how happy this makes others you too become uplifted gradually over time. Then, BOOM, you are in a genuine state of hell yes for others and this action becomes very genuine. You are literally rewiring where your thoughts go.
To illustrate, it can look something like this in action:
Acquaintance on social: "Jack is excelling on his new baseball team. He even hit a home run last night!"
Instead of: scrolling by quickly
Try: "That is amazing! You must be so proud."
Acquaintance: "I am so excited that I just booked a flight to Ireland after being stuck inside for almost two years."
Instead of: Omg I am so jelly. Must be nice...
Try: That is so rad. I am so excited for you.
If you are well versed in this I would love to hear about other approaches / interpretations to this Lock/Key.
Keep in mind:
This is a practice.
This shift doesn't happen overnight.
Be gentle with yourself.
Give others a chance to get there without calling them out or judging their efforts.
You may forget that you are practicing this.
You may not even realize the shift has occurred until you notice that something that would have previously caused a reaction in you, no longer has the same effect.
See you next time: Compassion for those who are less fortunate
xo, Amy
If you would like to see more of my yoga photography