In the wake of disturbing daily news for all people, Iâve come to believe that if left unchecked weâre going to see an avalanche of people feeling powerless to effect change in the world.
Yoga has taught me that I am manifesting my life, that I am limitless. From this place of accountability and strength, I have worked to overcome a lifetime of being marginalized. I am special. So are you. I have the power to change the world. So do you. The truth of who you are, why youâre special, and your destiny is far more beautiful than society can ever imagine. Does this sound bizarre? If so, settle in and take a moment to keep reading.
The most powerful women Iâve ever met are Hillary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Powerful, in terms of their influence. Â Both are calm, genuine, and confident. Both have spent their lifetimes helping others. But Hillary is another story so letâs just focus on Oprah for the balance of this article.
Oprah didnât emerge as a media powerhouse. In fact, sheâs gone from people saying âWho does she think she is?â to people accepting her position of , âThis is who I am.â
That resonates with me.
If I discern anything from her views, it isnât her ego, itâs her transformation from looking outside for answers to living from a place of real authenticity, vulnerability, and confidence. So, what does this have to do with yoga you ask? Everything.
If there is one thing I can guarantee that youâll acquire from a steady yoga practice is self-awareness.
Moving from an outwards gaze to an inward gaze. Youâll process information and act on your own wise, internal guidance. From a place that is uncluttered by the messages we receive from media, friends, partners, employers, and anyone else other than ourselves.
That internal gaze will impact all aspects of your life. If you already do that, I just might ask you if you do it a hundred percent of the time? I doubt it. But donât be alarmed, we all do. Hereâs why: Weâre taught at a very young age to listen to our parents of origin, a higher power through forms of worship, our teachers, police officers, you name it. At what point are we taught to listen to, and trust, our own innate voice, our wisdom. Few have learned that.
Yoga teaches you that.
When youâre able to declutter the messages you receive from outside of yourself and absorb information with a lens that has a filter of authenticity, vulnerability and confidence you, too, will be able to shout, âThis is who I amâ from the rooftops.
Were you taught that being confident was only okay until you reached âa certain ageâ and then the ârulesâ changed somehow? I donât know about you, but I was. I remember feeling so proud when I was the fastest kid I knew in my neighborhood. Then, as I began to get older I was bullied for being rambunctious, and labeled a âtomboyâ â as if that was the worst thing you could say to a girl in the 60âs. I have reframed those labels as âfull of energyâ and âathlete.â
Yoga teaches you to look inside yourself for all that you need. The labels society tries to impose on you become less relevant when you operate from a place of self-awareness. When you practice yoga, your strength is more than physical. The nourishment you receive, the sustenance that builds feelings of limitlessness, is developed from observing your thoughts and behaviors. Below are a few exercises to enhance that part of your practice.
According to The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, there are Eight Limbs of Yoga: The Yamas, The Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyanna, and Samadhi. As Iâm sure youâve heard a lot, the word âyogaâ means to connect, unite or âyokeâ. The thing we look to connect to is the true self, also known as the âdivine essenceâ, or âultimate selfâ. Letâs look more closely, as it relates to our study of self-awareness, the ultimate self (or atman).
Four yoga practices to help you look inside to cultivate authenticity and confidence:
Inside the Yamas:
1. Satya (Absence of Falsehood) â Becoming trustworthy to yourself.
The word âsatâ literally translates as âtrue essenceâ or âtrue natureâ. This teaching asks us to understand how much time is spent notseeing the truth (or reality) in many of our life situations. Yoga teaches us to trust that we have the capacity to see the truth. Many of us, myself included, have battled an internal critic. That is also referred to at times as a monkey mind. Itâs simply a busy mind. One thing that yoga can enhance in your life is the fluctuations of the mind. As we become still, the mind may become active. What is that voice saying to you? You are the witness to that voice. Looking at this Absence of Falsehood is a way in which we can build a better relationship with ourselves, and that will ultimately extend out to the world around us. As we resolve to become aware of this falsehood, we pay more attention to life experiences that are always changing, not that which is in us which is true â our true nature. Those life experiences are outside of ourselves. Instead, become trustworthy to yourself. Trust your truth: your true essence.
Inside the Niyamas:
2. Santosha (Contentment) â "A non-doing experience of relaxing inward in order to realize your inherent âenoughness.âÂ
For most itâs far easier to dedicate a practice of contentment with what we have, than for contentment in who we are. But havenât you said to yourself at times âIâll be happy whenâŚâ only to get to that event, time, or perfect pose and all those âfuture perfectâ goals are still out there. Itâs far more powerful to see that if you can cultivate a means of accepting and appreciating what you have already, you can move from a place of love. Love for yourself. To build on the previous paragraph on Staya, itâs about contentment in your truth â that you are perfect, just as you are. This doesnât mean non-action. Itâs simply wonderful to have clear goals for a future that is healthy, vital and full of purpose, but being whole and healthy â full of gratitude for your internal experience in the moment â is grounded in a place of love.
3. Svadhyaya (Self-Study) â  Ways of clearing away any misperceptions, as a means to see your life clearly.Â
The word itself is made up of Sva, meaning own, self, or the human soul, and Adhayaya, meaning lesson, lecture, or reading, as well as a practice of studying the Self. I always wondered while writing my book on yoga, why some people I interviewed made sure I capitalized the âSâ in self. Iâve come to find out that a small âsâ refers to ourselves in this physical form, or as some would say â our ego. But other scholars I asked about this simply said âselfâ is who we consider ourselves to be on a daily basis. But, when there is a capital âSâ (Self), this is more likely a reference to our true self,Atman, or the divine within us.
Patanjaliâs Yoga Sutra says: âStudy thy self, discover the divineâ 11.44
Who am I to argue with Patanjali? In all seriousness, itâs a noble quest to seek your authentic truth. Many come to yoga with questions about the inherent nature of life. As a recognized guide, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, help us in this quest. This journey to self, this yoga, is rewarding as we learn to see, with truth, our own divine nature. Our natural state is authenticity. Try and show up on your mat with a sense of vulnerability to see this truth. After all, itâs called a practice for a reason.
4. Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender)  â  The understanding of how your intentions relate to what you actually give your attention to.Â
In most translations of this Niyama, weâre advised to âsurrenderâ to a higher power and our higher self, which in essence means cultivating a deep and trusting relationship with the universe, and making each action an offering to something bigger than us. There are more ways that I have studied how to interpret this, but this interpretation always made me feel like taking great care to remain open, willing, vulnerable, and teachable would allow me to cultivate great confidence, while remaining humble to something far greater than I can imagine or explain.
Thatâs divine. Thatâs love. Thatâs yoga.
Also, I share this story with my yoga students when explaining this Niyama:
One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, âMy son, the battle is between two âwolvesâ inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.â
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: âWhich wolf wins?â
The old Cherokee simply replied, âThe one you feed.â
My advice to you is learn, like Oprah did, to feed the one that calls you to your highest potential. Yoga teaches us that. Does Oprah practice yoga? Uncertain of whether or not she practices the physical postures as much as you do, but Iâm certain she lives from the other limbs, even if the names are changed depending on her lens through which she sees the world. I do know when I met her, she clearly seems to operate from a place of love. That, in my opinion, is yoga. Yoga is life. Life is yoga. You, just like me, have an amazing tool â our yoga, our self â to show you that you can stand in your great, unlimited, light and shine big and bright. From that place of unlimited potential, you can operate from a place of power, authenticity and truth. A place that feels limitless.
Namaste, Stephanie
(my article first appeared in OM Yoga & Lifestyle Magazine)