'There is within us all a flame that burns where no winds come'..
Just before I was about to leave a career where I had been flying as cabin crew for 16yrs and had made the decision to try and make my passion for practicing yoga also in to my main way of earning a living, I remembered one of the first things we were told at the start of our teacher training .. ‘it’s not easy to make your sole source of income teaching yoga’ .. I was wondering if this was going to be as crazy an idea as trying to make a living as an actress was 20 years earlier !
It was in fact the beginning of a new journey of discovery, one which as this photograph (taken by the wonderfully talented Hannah Young) at the time was depicting, ways in which to move through dark and shade into new light.
The opportunities and experiences I’ve been so lucky to live through both before and since that day, have and continue to teach me many valuable life lessons.. such as we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t experience times of darkness as well as light, but through the multi faceted practices of yoga we are given a wealth of both mental as well as physical tools to guide us on our respective life journeys.
One of the first interpretations I read of ‘The Bhagavad Gita’, the famous Hindu text about Prince Arjuna and his numerous conversations with his spirit guide Lord Krishna about his life dilemmas trials and tribulations, was from Juan Mascaro’s translation. Within it I discovered a revelatory line that will stick with me forever .. ‘There is within us all a flame that burns where no winds come’.. this resonated so much that still whenever I find myself feeling challenged, overwhelmed or simply in need of a moment of calm stillness, I light a candle, think of these beautiful powerful words and watch how even the most flickering flame eventually finds its center.
Making Yoga also my career path hasn’t I have to admit been all ‘plain sailing’ and sometimes I feel a bit like a hustler negotiating, planning and just simply sometimes having to surrender to uncertainty, but I honestly wouldn’t change it for the world.
Some may argue for want of a better word, that Yoga was never something that should have become anyone’s career.. I would now however put forward a counter argument that the popularity in Yoga over the last couple of decades has stemmed from a great need in so many people to become united and learn about finding balance not just personally but with all living things. That we need connection with each other and now more than ever are in urgent need of a return to our symbiotic relationship with this earth we all live on .. and being able to put in to practice the skills and toolsets I learned from the investment in my teacher trainings by now sharing them with my students, not only fills me with great joy but also gives a real sense of purpose as well as the most wonderful life affirming connections.
From ancient yoga texts like Patanjalis Yoga Sutra, to some incredibly inspiring insightful modern day teachings, we are taught through Yoga about life balance in all things. Throughout history scholars and poets have also reminded us that for all the things we often seek externally, it is within ourselves where ultimately we usually find our answers ..
‘There is a life force within your soul, seek that life. There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine. O Traveller, if you are in search of that, don’t look outside, look inside yourself and seek that.’
Rumi