The power of the simple voice
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
And just like that… I was sold.
There are many milestones in life – birthdays, anniversaries, moments when your eyes open wide and a light bulb suddenly switches on after flickering quietly for days.
It was on my 21st birthday, that a dear friend gave me this unassuming children’s book which showed me the true power of simplicity at an age where perhaps letting go of simplicity was the key to being “adult”
12 years later, I still read this book. At least once a week… to empower myself, to encourage myself and to remind myself that a simple message goes a long way.
___
Interaction at any level is only as effective as the ability of each party to comprehend what exactly is happening. Too often in life, the sensory overload of words, thoughts and expectations muddle and discolour reality into a noisy indistinguishable mess.
And it is here in the mess that the poor soul battles to be seen & heard.
As a woman, child, sister, wife, yoga teacher, business partner and friend, learning to respect & listen to the quiet voice that whispers away is something that only now as a 33 year old, I am beginning to understand…not just my own whisper, but perhaps more importantly, the whisper of others.
In the yoga room, we strip down to our basic selves – sweaty, half naked and vulnerable struggling away in front of a mirror looking into our own eyes. It his here, in the vulnerability that the whisper of the soul can be easily heard.
By learning to listen to our own simple whisper in the hot room, we tune in to the rhythm and sound of the that quiet voice. As we learn to hear the rhythm and distinguish the voice in ourselves, the voices of others become more visible and clear.
At the core of every word and action, is a soul with a simple message that wants to be seen and wants to be heard.
So often in life, we see craziness around us- in an unrealistic expectation, in an unsympathetic word, in harmful gossip and remarks. Learning to peel back the layers of crazy and looking inside the soul to hear the whisper is something that I consciously have to work with each day, but this is an effort that brings so many rewards. Empathy, Understanding, Love, Trust, Acknowledgement.
At the core of every word and action, is a soul with a simple message that wants to be seen and wants to be heard.
Thats right, I repeated myself.
And I continue to repeat myself in my heart as I walk through this life and try to understand the world around me.
Learning to peel away the complication and listen to the simple messages underlying everything is the key. “Love me” “See me” “Respect me” “I need help” “I am lonely” “I feel stupid”… So simple but so powerful in understanding each other.
And by listening to the simple whisper, suddenly the noise of the actions and words matter less, and genuine fruitful interaction begins.
Resh, Bikram Yoga Oslo 
Resh,
I completely agree. Yoga melts away the resistance and external fascia of life that builds up around our souls. There is no more genuine a way of being then suffering and living and loving every moment and every pose. I have never felt more connected to a person in my life than when I practiced yoga with a friend this summer. Also my parents gave me that book on my graduation from high school it is still very meaningful.
Its incredible Brandon, the connection that we experience as we look into our own eyes in that room is so profound.
My husband has a slogan for his experience in the hot room… he says “nice to meet yourself” and thats exactly whats happening… we are completely exposed in front of ourselves and others and are able to have pure interaction soul to soul!
My favourite experience is the brief moment of eye contact with a fellow student as we turn around to lay in Savasana…after the spine strengthening series… exhaustion, vulnerability but honest camaraderie & connection.
Have you read the book “How Yoga Works” By Michael Roach? Another very meaningful book that I highly recommend.
I have not read that book. But I will look for it.
I know what you mean about eye contact. This summer my yoga teacher said, “Be careful where you look when you are in this room, you might just fall in love.”
The crazy thing is it had already happened. And that is another reason why this yoga was so powerful for me.
The souls in the room draw strength from each other and build into this incredible momentum. I was in a class today that had a high number of first time students, and they felt it too. I asked one of them after if she was coming back tomorrow. Her response was, “definitely!” It is amazing to know that even through the crazy struggle a session can be, people can still recognize the power so fully.
Hahaha! what a great quote!! I think I might just use that in my next class 🙂
We’ve been having incredible numbers of first timers in our studio here in Oslo and its just incredible the energy that it creates… the regulars/newly regular students adopt this incredible responsibility to support the new students and the new students feel this support regardless of their “first class state”… its just a great big love fest 🙂
Thats the incredible thing about this journey, whether you’re old or new, the sense of community the second the lights come on is undeniable.
Please keep your eye out for that book, its just so valuable on the journey into yoga! x
Reblogged this on curlyadventurer and commented:
Great thoughts about Yoga and life.
So glad you enjoyed enough to re-blog! 🙂
🙂 Fine post dear Resh – resonates totally with me – first accept , then respect yourself , before you are ready to see and listen to others 🙂
Thank you love! Its been a pleasure reading your blog/instagram feed as well 🙂 Im sure that some how, some where our paths will cross here in Norway one day! x