A Conversation

Below is an exchange between my friend Aimee and I.
PART 1: Joe
To stretch is to explore. To be flexible is to be able to be open,
bend & adapt. It is to be free of ego.

Be intellectual, physical & spiritual. To breathe is to feed, nourish
our being

We must b careful not to feed peoples impatience with magic pills.
Instead we must focus on the patience of the journey, stretching
beyond the moment creating flexibility allowing what is to be, to be!

We r often resistant to change of habit, from what we know or belief
to be right/true. This creates rigidity of disables us. This
disability limits our freedom to explore & the space in which we can
move.

Through yoga we can explore movement & stillness of the physical,
intellectual, & spiritual components of life &existence. In order to
do so &see beyond our walls we need to breakdown our constructs & free
ourselves from the walls the bound us, this creating space to explore
our life without limits.

PART 2: Aimee

When i start thinking about that- or feeling it ...empathetically ;) the idea of safety within our rigidity comes to mind....i think only when we feel safe enough to expand our limitations or self-imposed walls will we do that (expand beyond our barriers)- bc when we are in a state of fear- it automatically triggers our autonomic nervous system and all we know to do is defend ourselves...because we feel threatened- and we do this reflexively (unconsciously)....our walls are there to protect us...but the illusion is the idea or belief that we need protection- bc we are always safe truly- even in life or death situations...because we never really die-- but the flesh makes us feel differently about the whole thing= the illusion of mortality....when we can trascend this then we are truly free- yoga is a great plce to 'practice' our ability to expand our limitations....our rigidity....as instructors it is really crucial that we seek to create a space of love and safety- but alas it is alway in the mind of the pracitioner...the yogi that dictates how far they will allow themselves to go- but what NLP has discovered that we can get ourselves out of our repetilian brain (the fight or flight stance)- through connecting with our higher self our spirit...and i believe we can do this through yoga....or through connecting with our vision and our life dreams- or just simply from appreciating life (thereby connecting with Love- the highest energy imaginable)...hmmmm good stuff -