All About Happiness – A weekly column by Sandy Galiano.
The entire world, nearly every nation represented by their athletes. Ok, I will spare you the details of my trying to define the Olympic Games for you. I’m truly amazed at all the hard work and dedication these athletes put into training for these events. It got me thinking about yoga and the happiness it brings. It got me thinking about how the olympics can be an inspiration for one's yoga practice.
Training
Every person who has become an expert in their field whether it be olympic sports or the practice of yoga. There is always consistency. There is a constant learning and getting better. Training allows the opportunity of growth from which branches of expertise grow and blossom. Specifically, I have learned through yoga the power of breathing and the positive impact it brings to my body. The connection between breath and movement bring upon a tranquility. The movement may be easy, difficult, or somewhere in between. Regardless, the commitment to training is a joy like no other.
Qualifying
There is a point when we question how good we have gotten. In the practice of yoga a beginner will one day wonder whether its time to move up to a harder class. There are qualifying factors in the Olympics, in determining the right class for us, and in life we set goals to achieve to reach another level of expertise. This challenge is healthy and gets us ready for competing.
Competing
The Yoga Olympics may not be taking place in London 2012 and thats fine by me. The beauty of yoga is we can all be the gold winning yogi through our own practice. It is a decision we make, indeed our minds are made up and we go for the gold. Competing is not with anybody else except for ourselves. And that my friends can be one tough competitor. The biggest critic, the toughest coach, and an unforgivable judge. I would not be telling you the truth if I didn’t acknowledge these things because it is true that we are hard on ourselves. We set limits and hold ourselves back.
Don’t hold yourself back! Allow yourself the challenge of competing. Do the work by training, push yourself to qualify, and face fear with the best warrior pose you got. To compete is to do it, to do the work. The Olympics is a wonderful reminder of the inner and outer strength we humans have to achieve the most amazing obstacles. Its true we can’t all be the best at everything. But we can all be the best ME because there is only one of you and me. Go for the gold. Go for your passions bringing you all the happiness you deserve.
