No knowledge is to be found without seeking, no tranquility without travail, no happiness except through tribulation. Every seeker has, at one time or another, to pass through a conflict of duties, a heart-churning....The human body is the battlefield where the eternal duel between right and wrong goes on. Therefore it is capable of being turned into a gateway to Freedom. It is born in sin and becomes the seed-bed of sin. Hence it is also called the field of Kuru...Who is there that has not experienced the daily conflict within himself between the forces of Evil and the forces of Good? 

 

Gandhi, Mohandas K.. The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi (p. 13). 

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My journey to yoga began in search of meditation and prayer as a way of practicing the 11th Step of the 12 Steps of AA.  I found much more than I barganed for!  I stumbled into a Hot Vinyassa class at a local yoga studio and soon realized the breathing techniques I learned using the meditation apps Headspace and Calm were similar to the breath techniques being cued in class.  I discovered mindfulness of the breath, the body and the mind. Having studied and practiced strategic intervention, 12 Step and Stoic Philosophy, I recognized the Asana, yoga's physical postures, combined with breath were having a positive impact on my THINKING.  Could I combine all that I had learned outside yoga with the body to help me with my inner struggle?  The answer was, ABSOLUTELY!   To expand my personal practice, I took my 200HR YTT at BeYoga, Marietta GA.  

 

After reading "The Bhagavad Gita" with the personal commentary by Mohandas K. Gandhi,  I realized I had finally found what I had been looking for; my original purpose for starting a yoga practice, a personal connection with the Divine, the God of my understanding. Most importantly, I finally knew WHERE to look; WITHIN.

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The Bhagavad Gita, the story of the mythical character Arjuna, represents the inner struggle of every person; MAN and WOMAN! In his conversation with The Lord Krishna, Arjuna eyes are opened to suffering and the practices available to reduce suffering.

 

Everyone experiences difficulties at some time or another.  Suffering looks like the inner struggles with our body, addiction, family, work, the environment, past harms and the world around us. Yoga transforms these challenges with tools and techniques accessible to EVERYONE.  As a matter of fact, if you practice the Twelve Steps in any form, you are practicing one of the many aspects of yoga.  You don't have to become a yoga guru to benefit from a yoga practice. 

 

I am a seeker.  When I look into the mirror, I know my purpose.  How do I realize this purpose?  I constantly ask my Higher Power what is my purpose, I listen for the answer and then I seek to share my experiences with the hope they may inspire you to seek your own path.  By engaging in lifes challenges with intention and awareness, reflecting and loving away the shame and guilt prevalent in the life of an individual in recovery, utilizing the 12 Steps, a new life and way of being is truely possible.  Take this journey with me...discover and actualize your deepest driving desire.