Read more
Zusatztext "Colleenis a strong! empowering woman who I look to for sisterhood and wisdom. She has used every crazy twist and turn of her own life to find her spiritual center!and now she teaches us how to do the same. In Yoga for Life ! herunfiltered honesty will break you open and give you courage to find personalfreedom as you reevaluate your own stories. Colleen's funny! moving andcompassionate approach helps women set down their shame and pick up theirvoices. Her work has helped me to find more joy and contentment through asana!honest self-reflection! and loving kindness. This book is a treasure." Informationen zum Autor Colleen Saidman Yee with Susan K. Reed; Afterword by Rodney Yee Klappentext Colleen S Yee tells her story of finding herself and fulfilment through yoga, through both her stories and her healing instructional yoga. Leseprobe Yoga for Life INTRODUCTION: KNOW YOU’RE ENOUGH I watch women’s chests. I watch the arches of their feet. I watch the positions of their pelvises and the placement of their heads. I watch women holding it all together, afraid that if they slow down, everything will fall apart. I watch women being ashamed that they are aging and feeling unworthy of love. I watch women collapse. I also watch women’s perfection, courage, compassion, and grace. We women can balance our heads over our lifted chests, supported by strong legs that are connected to the earth. We can raise the arches of our feet and we can soften our faces. We can carry ourselves in the world with confidence and ease. I’ve taught yoga to thousands of women (and men) for close to two decades. Women are powerful and beautiful, and we are also in pain—physical, emotional, and psychological—stemming from past or present trauma. We’re fearful about what the future may or may not bring, personally or professionally. Women in my classes cope with addiction, body and relationship issues, mother issues, competitiveness, and an inability to tell the truth. All of these things create stagnation and tension in the body. Yoga gives us tools to overcome the obstacles that exist between us and freedom, joy, and gratitude. I see why women come to yoga; they want to reclaim something in themselves. It’s inspiring to watch women gain a different perspective and fall in love with their bodies. I was a professional model for three decades and very confused about my value beyond my looks. I’ve experienced triumphs in life, but plenty of traumas, too. I’ve always been searching for something beyond what I can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. I’ve had glimpses of this mystery through prayer, intense exercise, and drugs. Yet it is yoga that takes me back to myself and has made me realize that the magic that I’ve spent my lifetime searching for is right here inside of me. All I have to do is stop running from it. My yoga journey started in 1987 when a friend convinced me to go with her to a yoga class in New York City. When I walked out, I felt different than I’d ever felt in my life. As I stepped into the street and its lights, colors, and smells—all seemed different, so crisp and so clear. Something significant had shifted, and something opened up inside of me. I felt alive in a whole new way. I love this definition of yoga from one of my first teachers, Sharon Gannon: “Yoga is the state where nothing is missing.” When was the last time we felt nothing was missing? Maybe in utero. The term satya means “truthfulness” in Sanskrit. So many of us are lying to ourselves; we’re putting an identity out there that we want other people to see, and we’re hiding, from ourselves and from others, who we truly are. In truthfulness as in yoga, nothing is missing. We are present, whole. Even after all my years of practice and st...
