Breathe in the Zen
- Feb 24, 2016
- 3 min read
I have been practicing yoga for about 20 years (dude...when did 20 years happen?! LOL). Instead of taking a traditional P.E. class back in high school, I had the opportunity to take yoga instead.
The balance, breathing, and challenge to quiet my mind was fascinating to my 16 year old self. I am a girl with a lot of energy, and at 16 I was bursting at the seams.
It was a strange concept to my busy mind and body: be still, listen to your body, and quiet your mind. Yoga was the Ying to my very loud inner Yang.
Since those first yoga classes I have been able to keep my practice going through out my life. Many yoga instructors have come and gone, but none of them impacted my life quite like Nikki Affleck.
One of the most important lessons I learned from Nikki is that . . . through yoga, you prove to yourself that you can do hard things. Stepping onto a yoga mat and twisting your body into pretzel-like shapes for minutes at a time is challenging to say the least and downright hard at times. But through quieting the mind we can make it through the bodily discomfort and be stronger for it. For me, the real power of yoga is when I take that concrete and tangible memory of my body doing something hard, and use it to motivate me in my everyday life.
I once asked Nikki what yoga was to her, and this is what she wrote:
"For most of us, when our body is still, our minds tend to go a little crazy and we start creating to-do lists or solving problems. We can go as far as having full conversations and even fights with people all in our mind. For some, this can make peace and even sleep elusive.
The gift of yoga is learning to quiet the mind, to be present in the moment and use our bodies to focus and keep us in a place of clarity. Whether it is simply focusing on the breath, or doing a crazy hard Asana Pose, you are practicing yoga. Learning to quiet the mind can change your life and that is why so many people are drawn to this ancient practice.
Try it today, in line at a store or school car pickup line instead of staring at your phone or letting the mind wander. Just count your breaths: inhale/exhale (1) - inhale/exhale (2) and so on. As you breath, be conscious of the difference in your own state of mind… That is yoga."
Nikki is my yoga guru, but more importantly she is one of my dearest of friends. Completely blessed to have her in my life. Love ya Nikki!
Love, Sem xoxo
My Outfit Details
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Beautiful Photography by: Brooke Eichelberger Hall
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