There I am. At the top of my mat. Again. Wobbling. Balancing. Losing balance. Resting. Trying again. Union is yoga, I keep reminding myself.

In a recent class, I got a whole new perspective on what yoga can do. It felt like I was inside the test tube looking out. I was in the practice but not in it. Observing the sway and swirl of emotions that scattered through me as I transitioned from pose to pose.

I felt like I was wringing the unwanted emotions right out of my cells, just like you would a cloth. Each pose shifted some new emotion to the surface. The breath, beautifully capturing and dispelling the unneeded thoughts, left me slightly emptied, like the somewhat hollow feeling after a good cry. A void where the old thought once lived. Now empty and waiting for the light to pour in.

Standing in Warrior, I felt weakness creep up my limbs. Not a physical tiredness, but an emotional one. Some small corner of my body was holding on to an old way of being. Even though my normal daily thoughts did not match what was now rising to the surface, the yoga practice shook it loose from my cells and allowed it to drift up and out. Riding the wave of breath and movement.

This powerful releasing is deeply healing. This is yoga. Union with the Divine. A surrendering and filling with spirit.

What does it take to be a yogi? Showing up. Surrender. Kindness.

That is it.
Make your practice simple. No matter what is happening, no matter what you are doing, if you strive to hitch yourself to the divine, you are doing yoga.

This is all that is needed. All that is required. Just a true wish to lean your cheek next to God’s. Letting the divinity sink in as you sink into the poses.

I also saw how incredibly powerful yoga and Reiki are together. Yoga knocks old patterns and thoughts loose. It brings them up and out. It brings unity.

Reiki does that too and can help ease the process. Reiki smooths the rough edges of deep emotions as they are released from the body-mind. Reiki also adds in a massive influx of light, pure energy. It heals and fills you up with the essence of Divine Love. It establishes a new pattern of energy within you so that you can begin living from this new, healthier perspective.

Yoga and Reiki. A perfect balance. Yin and Yang. Active and passive. Between these two pillars, there is unity.