Don’t practice yoga for cosmetic beauty, practice for cosmic beauty. –B.K.S. Iyengar

Post date: Apr 02, 2016 1:27:38 AM

I had a preview class this morning but no one showed up. It was at a studio with huge mirrors and windows. It was sunny and beautiful this morning. So I started to practice by myself right in front of the mirror. I don’t have a good light in my bathroom where a mirror is so I don’t have much chance to look at myself clearly under the natural light. As I sat in front of the mirror and looked at myself, I had noticed wrinkles around my eyes and freckles all over my face. Oh my! I didn’t know I have that many! Maybe I need more sunscreen. Anyway I greeted myself and started the practice. Since I was on my cycle, I didn’t want to do anything vigorous so I did some sitting poses, supine poses and Pranayama (yogic breathing). After about 40 minutes practice, I laid down in Savasana (corpse pose). Even though it wasn’t that long, I felt wonderful. After a while, I slowly came out of the last pose and sat down in front of the mirror again. As I opened my eyes, I was kind of surprised to see myself glowing right front of me! I couldn’t notice the wrinkles or the freckles but I could only see my shiny eyes. I was beautiful! I felt like as if all layers of myself were lifted up and the pure essence of beauty was shining through my body. That was a precious moment. Well, now I see my wrinkles and freckles again but I know how beautiful I can be even with those. This is one of many benefits to practice yoga. See you on the mat!