How Do I Begin This Adventure?
I think the original idea for this blog came when having a conversation with my dad. When telling me about his adventures on Ragbrai (a bike ride across the state of Iowa) he gasped, “There she was, just doing it [yoga] right there in the open!” Apparently Somewhere near a city, there was a woman, doing yoga outside and it caused quite a stir. I informed my dad, that the pergola my husband built me was specifically for doing yoga, “OUT IN THE OPEN!”
See, this the the world I live in, out here in rural Iowa. We aren’t so backwards as to not be aware of it, but around here, yoga is:
- Strictly for exercise
- “I’m not a pretzel” most people tell me when I suggest they join a class. This is a common misconception about yoga we have around here. It’s difficult to explain to those who don’t want to listen, that yoga is so much more than being flexible.
- For those who came to class, if I didn’t make challenging enough, it wasn’t a good enough workout for them. Ultimately, I stopped holding class because they became to chatty and aerobic.
- The devil in disguise!
- We all know them, the ones that are talk about the love of Jesus, but somehow miss the message of love, understanding, and acceptance, that IS the REAL message of Jesus. Let’s just say, a few of them have tried to SAVE me…..or maybe that’s because I grew up Catholic.
- I’ve read and heard preaching about yogic philosophy being contrary to Christian doctrine. For this reason, I wasn’t allowed to teach a yoga class for an event that was sponsored by a particular local church.
I can’t help but feel there’s a lack of knowledge of key tenants when yoga and meditation (as it’s viewed as only an Eastern “thing”) are shunned by particular groups or organizations. I’m not trying to sound judgmental or speak poorly of people, that’s the opposite of what I want my blog to be about, but I do ask for more open-mindedness.
As I’ve Journeyed through adulthood, I’ve been blessed with education and opportunities to explore history and religion, and over the years as my anthropologic mind learned more, I couldn’t help but find similarities in many religious and spiritual practices. In these similiarities, specifically between Eastern and Western thought, could there lie “truth?”
As I wander through my own spiritual path, I invite you to come along. Join me as I do my best to find synthesis between East & West, digging through history and tradition, meditating on key philosophies along the way. Perhaps, not only can we learn more about ourselves, but come to understand others, and MAYBE, we’ll realize we aren’t so different afterall.
