Empowerment

Hi Lovely

I hope you had a wonderful week. If you were celebrating the holiday I hope it was a nice time to enjoy good food and family. If you were not celebrating this last week, I hope you had a wonderful last week of November! I am currently listening to a moody playlist to get me into my feelings and ease my heart this evening while typing this out to you. If I am being honest it has been a difficult day for me but, I am glad to have a space and community to pull my attention towards when other things feel overwhelming. I took some time today to gather up my Monday recommendations which is a fun thing I have decided to start doing every week. Every Monday there will be a new post with some different recommendations for you to browse with some tips and suggestions to ease you into your Monday. You can find my most recent recommendation list here for Instagram or here for Facebook. I would love to hear back from you, let me know how you get through Monday blues or any good recommendations you have for me.

I have been thinking a lot about empowerment in the last week. It is a term I feel a bit shifty around. I can recall past times where I have felt empowerment however, trying to put a definition around empowerment is tricky for me as it is more of a feeling than a concrete thing.

I can describe times where I have stood with squared shoulders and taken a stance, times where I have taken a deep breath and hit send advocating for myself and my needs, and I can describe times where my body has amazed me with its grace, power, and ability creating a feeling of fearless power within physically.

I would argue these are all examples of empowerment but, I would like to talk specifically about finding empowerment within your yoga practice. Last week on social media I asked "what is one thing you wish your yoga teacher knew about you?" I got several great responses and I gave my own answer as well. I wish yoga teachers knew I would be taking my own creative liberties in the class and doing my own thing any time I want or feel. This to me is EMPOWERING. Talking with several other students, teachers, and yoga practitioners I have heard a myriad of horror stories. "The teacher was more like a drill sergeant than a yoga teacher", "I was afraid to do something different and get in trouble", "everyone else was doing it so I felt like I had to". I have also had students tell me about past experiences where a teacher has pushed them, rotated them, or 'corrected' their yoga form and they were injured because of it.

This is why I advocate for ultimately 2 things in my yoga classes which gives power back to you as a student and evens out the power dynamic between us in class.

1. No hands on assists. This rule has multiple facets to why I follow it however, in terms of empowerment, it takes your power away for me to push or adjust you. Why? Because I know and acknowledge what you are feeling in your body always trumps what I am seeing visually happening. I trust in you as a student. I trust you to take your body into the version or position of a pose which works best for you in the moment. And it is humbling as a teacher to know and acknowledge I cannot feel this for you, nor should I impose my own expectations of form on you. I will never touch you in a yoga pose unless you specifically ask for me to spot you or support you with inversions or balance poses.

2. Options, Options, Options. This rule empowers you as a student to make choices for your own body. You don't need to feel pressured to perform the pose to please me, conform to what everyone else is doing, or look a certain way. This opens up your ability to go deeper, ask what do I want or need from this pose right now. How empowering is it to say "I know me and my body best" and "I know I can trust myself to take care of my body best".

Yes, I think you can find empowerment from doing a difficult set of balance poses, hitting a great rhythm of flow and breath with everyone else in the class, or even completing a chaturanga press, but I think setting boundaries around your body should also be seen as an ultimate form of EMPOWERMENT. Next time you are in a yoga class you might question your own motives for completing certain poses, going at a certain pace, or choosing a certain option. Are you doing it because you want to? If not why, and how to you build up trust to serve and empower yourself more.

Let me know if you enjoyed this newsletter :) I am always keen to hear your feedback, ideas, or questions. If you want to keep learning outside of these weekly newsletters you can find me almost daily on Instagram and Facebook. If you would like to practice with me and explore EMPOWERMENT in your body through yoga come take a class. You can find my full website online at www.thegratitudepractice.com. Class options range from mindfulness, yoga for teens, yoga for relaxation, and noon or evening yoga. I hope to see you there soon.

-Until Next Week,

Janae