Taking Up Space

I’ve been practicing yoga for years. It’s one of the spaces in my life I feel most expressed. And yet, one day a few months ago, I was in class and had a revelation when the teacher asked us to expand into the space on our mats. I’d heard this sort of messaging before, but something struck a chord in me on this particular day. I realized that instead of inhabiting my practice and truly taking ownership of my experience, I had been shrinking back. I was afraid that if I let myself be seen, whether I was practicing successfully or wobbling, I’d be judged. I was, as in so many other areas of my life, subconsciously seeking to control people’s perceptions and opinions of me by attempting to be as contained as I could. Containment though, is not a vehicle for joy. It’s a means of suppression based in fear. As I allowed myself to feel into my body, to fully embody my skin and the space on my mat, I felt exuberant. There was a sense of liberation; of being alive, at ease, and content. I was moving to each beat in the music, fueled by every inhale and exhale.

Yoga, like most things in life, is a practice that reflects ourself back to us. We can see where we are tight, restricted, impatient, afraid, or holding back. We can also see where we are free, flowing, expressed, alive, joyful, reverent, grateful, and in union with ourselves and life. What my experience in class taught me that day is that there is always an opportunity to check in with myself and ask, “How are you taking up space in your job, relationships, self expression and body?” It might differ day to day, but to practice committing to showing up as fully as possible, even when I’m scared or feel uncomfortable, is a true act of embodiment. Embodiment, being here now, is the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and to the world, and more than anything I’m learning that we all have gifts to share with the world. We are all, after all, here on purpose for a great purpose.