The Yogic Beat

I decided to change things up a bit this morning.



I'll readily admit falling behind - a lot - on my yoga practice. It has mostly consisted of random legs-up-the-wall or a few sun salutations here and there. (For those non-yoga practitioners reading this...don't worry. That's about as "technical" as I'll get.)


This morning, I knew I needed a bit of strength training but my body felt ready to move, to flow. So I put on my workout playlist (yeah, that one I referred to earlier with music as random as Britney Spears to Def Leppard) and started a core-strengthening / yogic mix of body movement.


It was amazing.


From plank to downward dog, triangle to head-to-knee (ok, a few more poses mentioned - sorry) I did what my body ached for and moved with the music and my breath.

As a registered yoga teacher, I knew what I needed to do to keep my body aligned.

As a mindful practitioner, I recognized what I needed to do to keep myself away from pain (that darn spine issue kept me quite awake).

As an open spirit, I felt where I needed to move...and the music provided the beat.


This could easily lead into a discussion of what yoga is and is not - what exactly consititutes practicing yoga (at least the physical, on-the-mat yoga) and what is just "yoga-like". It's a discussion worth having.


Suffice to say for now, I'm fairly liberal on my definition of yoga. Yoga, in part by definition, is Unity. Unity of mind and body, breath and movement, strength and stillness, mundane and spiritual.


This morning, I re-found unity using the energy of music. I danced, I moved, I was aware of what was in the moment that it was. My body, my core, my breath, and my smile were all flowing together. I was in joy.


Regardless of what we call it, isn't that a great place to be??