Our relationship to self and Source is the foundational relationship, the one that shapes all the others. Self-compassion is necessary if we want to move through the world with any real kindness or love.

Our yoga asana (physical) practice is an ongoing conversation we have with our bodies. Your instructor might be able to spot something that looks potentially harmful, and they might not. We are in conversation with our bodies the entire time we are on the mat. As with most conversations, the listening part is the most important. No two days are exactly the same in these extraordinary vessels of ours.   

When I act as though I am interconnected, I can start to feel it. I remember that I don’t exist in isolation, that I am held in an intricate web of relationships—with people, with the natural world, with something greater than ourselves. And when I feel that, I move through life differently. With more care. With more gratitude. With a sense of belonging and an increased sense of responsibility.

When I fully recognize my place in the web, I recognize the ways my presence, my choices, and my energy ripples outward.

I’m trying to reframe my relationship with aging in general, and with my body as it undergoes this process. The water in a river is constantly changing, but the river itself stays recognizable as the river.