The Edge....What It Can Do for You!

Many people find the edge in arm balancing!

Other people find their edge in revolved standing postures.

Standing balances are often another edge that people find themselves in during yoga.

I found my "edge" yesterday.  

Believe it or not, it was in a lunge.  

(Now my friend, Mark Owens, would be so surprised because he thinks that I teach only lunges while he is in class.)

Frankly, I don't remember how many lunges (also called Warrior I here at Kripalu) we had done, I don't remember what time it was in the afternoon, but what I do remember is the voice that came up inside of my head.  It was not friendly.  It was not kind.  It was not very "yoga-like."  It sounded something like this...

You are not good.

You are not flexible.

You cannot balance.

You think you are a teacher.

You are too old.

You cannot do this pose.

Your knee hurts.

Your body aches.

You are a failure.

You are overweight.

You are embarrassing.

You are a curse.

These are things that have been said to me or that I have said to myself in the past.  Plus, a whole lot more.  We were doing chakra yoga, and bam!  I heard these things as if they were on loud speaker.

Then, all of a sudden.

A new voice appeared.

It said, "You are loved."

It kept going.

"You are worthy to be loved."

"You are just beginning to learn how much 

your worth really is."

"You are God's child."

I stopped the negative voices, kept my breath going, and started whispering to myself, "I am loved.  I am worthy of love.  I am God's child.  I can do this and not quit."

Peace began to flood my whole body.  Yes, I was very tired.  Getting up at 4, living in a dorm, no coffee, three intense yoga sessions or more (frankly, I lost count), and lots of meditation and instruction, I found my edge in a lunge.  Lunges are not hard for me on a regular basis.  But, it certainly was my tipping point, and all of the negative past came rushing in when I was at my edge. I know I can find it again today, and I know that there is a possibility that all the bad things I have ever thought or ever heard about myself, may return.  The good news is that I breathed through it and tuned my listening dial to what God has to say, and not what the negative voices accuse.

Have you found your "edge?"  If so, breathe and change the frequency of your listening dial.  God is speaking.  Are you listening?  When God speaks, they are words of peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness.