Celebrate

This past weekend I went on a photoshoot at the salt flats just outside of Salt Lake City.  I have always hesitated with doing photo shoots or posting pictures of myself doing yoga because I feel sometimes the essence of the practice gets lost by purely focusing on the physicality.  Honestly, I have also shied away from posting my own photos because I have heard the whole gamete of opinions that other yoga teachers have about yoga images being posted on websites or social media.

Growing up, I have lived with an eating disorder and been challenged in many ways to find my own happiness and freedom within my body.  Yoga has been one of my primary outlets where I have come to accept and celebrate myself.  Having lived through an eating disorder, I know the depths of body denial, dissatisfaction, and general distaste which one can feel.  The journey to coming to a place where I can accept my body as a strong, and beautiful instrument, has been a long, but somehow beautiful process.

Everyone who practices yoga, practices for a reason.  My reason is to feel at home in my body and to offer that experience to others.  The yoga practice has a way of working its way on people if they are able to find a practice that speaks for them.  At the same time, everyone’s practice also looks different and hopefully everyone can find a way to celebrate what serves them.

This photoshoot was a way for me to honor my own practice and how it has served to support me.  Spending the day in the desert with my mat and one of my best soul friends capturing my love for my practice was truly magic.   My hope is that we can all find a practice that serves us, and that we can all leave a little bit of space to recognize our own strength and beauty no matter our path.  Why do you get on your mat, or why do you want to begin? What your intention begins as may evolve, but that’s part of the beauty of the practice.