Yoga Mat Misty Eyes

It's the first day of my new blogging schedule, from now on every Wednesday is my day to write a little something. Cruising around social media for inspiration, I found it from my favorite online yoga teacher, Maris Alyward and Yoga Upload. She shared a post from Yoganonymous about crying on your yoga mat. I didn't even read the article, Maris' brief narrative and pressing of question "Have YOU cried in yoga?" was all  I needed to get my fingers moving.

Short answer, yes. I have cried on my mat many times. Usually its a song that gets me. Specifically a song the brings me back to my yoga home of Pavones Yoga Center in Pavones, Costa Rica. My time practicing, learning, teaching and growing in that studio along side trusted friends, inspiring spirits and like minded individuals are some of my most cherished memories. My experiences at PYC are filled with so much love and personal transformation that each time I am transported back there through song, scent, thought or image its as if my body relives each moment in a condensed flash of gratitude. And the waterworks flood in.

(me, not even close to crying at my first PYC teacher training in 2012) 

Other times mat tears result from a personal situation that resolves itself as I weep through a pose or two. To experience emotional pain in conjunction with a challenging pose creates a channel for that pain to escape from your physical body. A release of unprocessed emotions. Deep hip openers like Pigeon or Frog pose are usually a culprit for this kind of clearance.

As a teacher, only a few misty-eyed students have graced my classes, but each time I've felt a deep sense of connection and compassion for their process. I feel honored that they have chosen to allow themselves to be so deeply personal in the yoga space that I helped to create for them. Not to say that sobs are required by any means, but crying on your mat brings you closer to yourself and opens the way for you to experience the spiritual essence of yoga which can often be omitted from our Western mind and practice. So maybe? Next time? just let it flow.