Where can we put our focus: inward or outward?
I was working on my post for this week and it was all about a yoga sequence that helps us shift gracefully. I wanted to build off the post I shared in late September about using drishti as a way to make slow, intentional shifts from pose to pose. It was a theme I dreamed up as I thought of what it meant to embody the Autumn season and that sense of movement and change.
As I wrote, I wondered if maybe I should simplify the sequence. It started to get a little complex and I thought, do busy moms really have time for this?? Speaking of which, if you haven’t yet visited the thread here on Urban Yoga Mama where you can share what you’d like to read or learn more about here, check it out here! I always appreciate the feedback and it really makes Urban Yoga Mama feel more like a community.
I have to admit, though, I’ve been a little distracted. I guess you could say I haven’t been sure where I should fix my drishti (focus) on a metaphorical level. I’m always writing about turning our attention inward and taking a break from the busyness of momlife by paying attention to our bodies, breaths, thoughts, and emotions. To be honest, though, it can be so hard to do that. Sometimes we don’t know what we feel on the inside; sometimes there’s just too much to attend to on the outside.
For sure, I’ve had a lot going on inwardly and outwardly (and I’m sure you have, too!) and lately here in Chicago we’ve been navigating this huge influx of migrants. It’s another thing ‘out there’ that feels overwhelming and it’s hard not to feel like I should do something to help; there are so many of them wandering the streets, sleeping at the airport and on the floor of police stations around the city. When the winter hits, what will happen? And over the years, how will things unfold? That’s looking into the future…and I can appreciate it when I look a bit into the past (that’s right, yoga practice isn’t only about being just in the present moment, but that’s another topic for another post:)
For instance, my parents were immigrants and much of my family, too. How different my family’s lives would be if they weren’t able to come here. I often zoom out a bit from my personal situation and think of how different the U.S. would be if so many influences weren’t able to cross the border.
And it’s not just people crossing the border; yoga is one of those things, too.
My journey: yoga in a foreign land
In the years 2009-2012, I made three attempts to live in Barcelona. I had gone there to take a teacher training course and teach English. I’d say I was somewhat successful, but still had to make the trips back and forth and ultimately was unable to stay for as long as I wanted; it was near impossible for an American to get a visa for the job I was working. But in my time there, I was able to find my niche in the yoga community. How wonderful it was to connect with others in a setting that was familiar and nurturing to me: yoga class. There was the novelty of taking (and eventually teaching) classes in Spanish, but the practices themselves felt like home to me.
Does yoga feel like home to you? Is it a refuge, or more of an exotic destination where you feel compelled to try new things? Sometimes when we don’t feel totally comfortable with yoga practices, we can ask ourselves these questions:
Are these specific practices suitable for me in the context of my lifestyle, culture, and physical/mental state?
How can I get creative and utilize self-care practices that might not be traditionally yogic, but that can align with yogic principles and philosophy?
These are two questions I often address when I write posts for Urban Yoga Mama. Let’s work together to make a yoga practice that feels like home for Yoga Mamas of all types:). What is a yoga practice you’ve tried that felt foreign or awkward? What are some lifestyle practices (yoga and otherwise) that help you feel at home in your body and mind?
flashback to me joining a Satsang (spiritual community gathering) at a yoga ashram
Finding home inside, outside, and everywhere
Of course, many yoga practices feel like home to me because I’ve been on this path for about 27 years now, but there are many for whom yoga feels foreign, awkward, and even inaccessible. Here on Urban Yoga Mama, I want to acknowledge that it’s okay for yoga to sometimes feel foreign and awkward, especially at first, but that I always strive to make it accessible. If anything here ever feels inaccessible or exclusive, please do feel free to comment — I think it’s really important to keep that topic of conversation going.
At this point, let’s circle back to that idea of drishti and how we can shift our focus inward, then outward, then inward again. It’s important to do both. Yoga isn’t just a navel-gazing practice: it’s my hope to create a blend of self-care and community care here on Urban Yoga Mama. Yes, moms need self-care but they also need community care, too. Isn’t that why they say it takes a village to raise a child? On the flip side of that, it takes a village to support a mama. Yoga should be both self-care and community care. During my time at Yogaville-Satchidananda Ashram, we practiced community care daily through making meals and maintaining the grounds; it was an integral part of the lifestyle and teachings there and it made yoga practice so much less solitary.
Paying homage to newcomers
And just to wrap up my thoughts on the migrant situation here (and everywhere, really), I wanted to share some interesting articles on yoga and immigrants:
Embodying a dedication to immigrants
How one woman bridged cultures with yoga
One Italian-American’s take on yoga and culture
Some history of yoga in America
An interesting peek into the global history of women in yoga
Thank you for making some time to join me on this diversion; I promise, I will post the yoga sequence scheduled for today some time in the next week, but I just found this issue so important that I had to pay homage to it here.
Until the next post, where is your focus at the moment? Inward, outward, or a bit of both? And are you using any yoga practices to keep yourself grounded in that constant shift between your inner and outer life?
Just a reminder that soon I’ll be reserving some posts for paid subscribers, while others will be free to all. Why pay for a yoga newsletter? A few reasons:
The more the merrier, and as we gather a community of inspired yoga mamas, you as paid subscribers can help guide the path of this newsletter.
With even just a bit of income from this newsletter, I can provide even higher quality posts, videos, audio, and more (I’m thinking live online events). This isn’t my job, just a years-long passion project, but if it were my job, imagine the quality and quantity of resources I could offer!
Money can’t buy love, but here it can be a way to show love for my work and dedication to yoga and Yoga Mamas. Of course, if $5/month or $55/year is in any way a financial strain, please do reach out and I’ll gift you a subscription. Consider it my form of community care:)