Open the heart

Yoga postures that imply opening the chest are hard for me. I've said this so many times and I've shared so many times with my friends my insecurities about these postures that eventually I came to believe this was the ultimate truth.

Some asanas will test our balance. Some will test our strength. Others (the hard ones for me) will test our emotions and the way we deal with our feelings. This is how yoga connects with life. We face ourselves in the mat. We face our demons. We face our fears. And yes, that's hard. No doubt. But realizing this may be one first step to make amends.

My difficulties in my yoga practice have made more aware of my difficulties in life. I already knew WHAT was a struggle, but not necessarily WHY.

Opening the chest is showing your heart to the other. Letting people see it, touch it. Being exposed and feeling vulnerable. I don't like that.

Nobody likes to feel vulnerable because we usually associate it with weakness. That's why it is so challenging to give our hearts away. We will rather push people away than let people in.

And then, what started up by being hard, becomes even harder; it becomes painful.

And we shut down our hearts again. And we avoid asanas like urdhva dhanurasana because we don't what to face any of it. 

But can we live a whole life running away from the things that terrify us?

Well, yes we can but why would we do that?

Sooner or later we will be asked to be braver, stronger and wiser. To go with the flow and really enjoy having a life to live and daily opportunities of making things better.

This moment can happen right now as long as we open the heart, open the heart, open the heart.