Yoga for when you want to hide...

I think most of us at some time or other have experienced the feeling that we just want to shut out the world. 

During times of intense negative emotions, it can feel as if you want to curl up into a ball, pull a blanket over your head, and hide from everyone and everything! 

It might seem strange a yoga teacher confessing that she sometimes wants to hide away - but part of what called me to the practice of yoga was a deep need to work with and understand the wounds that make me feel this way at times. When these sensations of wanting to hide rise within, it can be really difficult to stand up in front of a group of people and guide them through a yoga session. But showing up and doing so anyway is all part of the process of releasing those beliefs and inner voices that try to hold you back and make you feel like you’re “less-than” or not worthy of love and acceptance because you don’t fit some BS criteria.

Our yoga practice is not about getting rid of these intense emotions. The idea is that our practice holds up a mirror to ourselves - one that enables us to witness our thoughts and feelings, work with them, and begin to realise what it is we need when they arise. Sometimes we need to succumb to our intense emotions, and allow ourselves to be fully immersed in what it is we are feeling at the time, and other times we need to face them head on and do the thing that makes us most uncomfortable anyway! 

This is the hardest part of yoga. It feels uncomfortable, and often we don’t want to face what’s reflecting back at us in that mirror - again, we just want to hide from it. But the more we can look inside ourselves to figure out what on Earth it is that is making us feel a particular way, the better we can understand ourselves… and the better we understand ourselves, the kinder we can be to ourselves. This is where we can begin to form a connection that transcends our physical and mental being, and once again we come to realise that we are a beautiful soul put on this planet to give and receive love. It really is that simple. 

Autumn is well and truly upon us now and so begins the season of hibernation. The pull to stay indoors, hunker down and get cosy is strong, and as much as I don’t advocate going against our natural inclinations, sometimes actually getting out and being amongst people (especially yogis!) can be the best thing for us!

So even when you don’t feel like showing up, when you just want to hide, remember that you are not alone in feeling this way. Pull up that mirror, notice what it is you truly need, and allow yourself the time to process, release and come as you are.
Namaste Yogi
xxx

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