The Beginning and the End.

If you could imagine your yoga practice as your life’s journey, would you treat it any differently?

It’s no coincidence that we begin in child’s pose (most of the time) and end in savasana (always). Your yoga practice has a defined beginning and a defined end, everything in between is the life and lessons we learn along the way. As you read on, think of the terms yoga practice, life journey, yoga journey, and the like to mean the same thing and can be used interchangeably.

So, let’s start at the very begging, in child’s pose. Ahhhh, the youth. The moments in life that you don’t really know what’s going on, but you’re at least aware of your conscious mind and the fact that you have a breath and a body. The subconscious is at work learning all of your habits and preconceived notions that come later in your journey.

As you progress through your chatarungas, sun salutations and vinyasas, you become more aware of who you are and you might have that “ah-ha!” moment when you realize all of this is actually going to end and this journey is definitive. You might make some mistakes along the way, but eventually, you get into your own rhythm. Then, comes the peak of your practice. You’re a lot wiser, more conditioned, and you’ve been training your whole life for this moment… Your peak pose.

But, you also realize the end is near. Would you do anything differently? Because you know the end is inevitable, you might start asking yourself do I have any regrets or is there anything I can or should have done?

Then, corpse pose. Game over. The end of your journey.

But wait… There’s one more pose.

Imagine you’re lying on your back, reliving the last 60 minutes before finally giving in and doing absolutely nothing. Three minutes later, an ominous voice tells you to keep your eyes closed, bring awareness back into your body and imagine that you’re waking up for the first time, but somehow changed. This voice tells you to roll on to the left or right side of your body for fetal pose. The pose that represents the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next. The post that literally signifies a rebirth, and chance to start over again. You’ve been reborn.

So you get up, walk away, and begin your next journey.

Ahhhh, the youth.