The first Wednesday of my personal forty days coincides with the beginning of the sacred period of Navarātri. This year I find myself more drawn to this celebration of worshipping the Feminine Divine. This year, though I have always been drawn to such worship, I find myself understanding it on a different level.

Over the past decade Wednesdays have been somewhat quiet days. I’ve built them in to be more restful, with fewer classes. A day that I can use as I see fit. I think that many people do not understand the schedule of a full-time yoga instructor. If we are teaching live (whether in person or online) then we teach when people are available to be taught. My hours, my days do not fit with the traditional hours or timelines. Then, there are the parts of being a yoga instructor that works for themselves, the parts that we may not think about - the class management and planning of workshops, events and retreats, the social media and marketing, the figuring out of finances, learning to use technology and keeping abreast of what is going on in the world of wellness.

It can be a lot but I choose how I use my time and energy.

Today I am cooking meals to carry for my parent. It is my own way of showing love and making sure that he is taken care of. While I prepare, cook and package I listen to the sacred mantras, I hold good thoughts in my heart, I choose what I know will nourish on different levels. My partner and I will go to my family home and spend time with him. We will bicker (that is our way) and we will learn. And then I’ll come home to teach my evening private classes.

To be a yoga instructor one must first, and always, be a yoga practitioner. To be a yoga practitioner we must ask ourselves why we want to practise yoga and then begin our journey of study, finding the teachers, the guides and Gurus that work with us.

For some, the reason is to strengthen and heal the body, others seek to find quiet and learn to manage the mind, some strive to find balance emotionally and otherwise. Some seek liberation, enlightenment.

When I ask myself why I practise, these are the answers that quickly come to me.

✨ For personal growth, understanding, self-transformation

✨ To be a good steward, to honour and care for this life and space I am in

✨ To age happily and gracefully

I am working on understanding my responses in depth. Today, and for this period of Navarātri, I am exploring my relationship with the Feminine Divine, with Shakti who is simultaneously Source and Substance. I do this exploration through my physical practice, through contemplation and worship.

I invite you to take time to ask yourself why you are interested in yoga, I invite you to observe how you can explore your response.

peace,

Renee Arundhati