Coming Home To Yourself

I was recently asked by Regan Tuttle, local writer, about whether I agreed that coming to the mat is like coming home and an access point to the higher self, I was thrilled to be able to offer my insight:

“Great question!

First I think we should talk about what "coming home to yourself" means. We have many influences in our lives, including the influences of family, peer groups and society. I believe that we all have experienced, on some level, the pressure to please those around us to feel a sense of belonging and value. From the very early stages of our lives, we are formed by ideas of who we think we are, and who we think we should be. This sense of identity becomes the guiding force for all of the decisions we make. With each passing year, we become increasingly identified by our likes and dislikes, our "ego" and interestingly, our fear of death. So, from this perspective, if you examine the potential for an expansive relationship with life, it gets smaller and smaller. We become absorbed with the finite nature of things and we become disconnected from the intelligence that lives within the heart because we are bound by our "ideas" of what we understand about life.

The intelligence within the heart, you say? During the industrial era, we were conditioned to believe that our intelligence resides solely in the brain. Our intellect, yes. Our intelligence, no. Our intellect would have us believe that we are who we think we are. Our intellect would tell us that our world can only be defined by what we see and what we can prove.

Yet, meditation, yoga, breath and mindfulness practices begin to soften the hold of the mental constraints that leave us in a contracted relationship with life and ourselves. As we allow our attention to be re-directed to the beauty and simplicity of being, we begin to relax into the present moment as it is. We begin to relax into ourselves as we are. This coming home to ourselves moves us from residing in the mind to residing in the heart and trusting the intelligence of our body to inform us of our truth. This attunement becomes a sanctuary for awakening to the "higher self". The higher self is the purest version of ourself that is intrinsically aligned. Aligned with the true nature of our being which is peaceful, kind, compassionate and joyful.”

Yours truly, Kristin