Today is Martin Luther King Day.
Thanks Brene Brown for sharing one of Martin Luther King quotes: “There comes a time when silence is betrayal”
This reminded me of one of the key reasons I teach Yoga in the form of Personal Development , not just about the poses(
This quote also prompted reflection on my own experiences witnessed of staying silent or speaking up & Satya (Truthfulness) part of the Eightfold Path of Yoga .
I was challenged by this when working as a School Based Youth Health Nurse with young people who were being abused, being afraid to come forward (and rightly so because those who are eventually brave enough to speak up are not always supported, not even by our ‘justice’ system. In fact people that speak up are often the ones that are ‘judged’ instead of those that harm.
You can only stay quiet for so long until everything in your being tells you that staying silent is the wrong thing to do, not just for you but for your community.
Yoga can help us when making big decisions that we are fearful about making .
Yoga can teach us how to read the Subtle Body & follow its messages.
The belly may tighten, and there maybe worry of what others may think.
This is the “belly brain” (your gut) telling you something is not ok.
The Yogis sometimes say if we can master this centre , our solar plexus (the seat of the will) and transform our attention & focus from it all being about “me” to “we” then the work of all of our other energy centres is done.
Listen to your belly brain .
Your intuition that speaks up when something is not OK.
That’s the gut raising it’s hand asking the heart to take the reins .
Speak up for the sake of helping others. We sometimes hold back out of fear or shame.
If you fail to follow your gut, you disrespect your self and let the ego win the game.
What I’ve learnt so far from nursing is causing harm or keeping things bottled up can make people sick and cause disease
What I learnt from my yoga Mat & mindfulness was to speak up to help people see
There maybe that old school notion of shut up & keep the peace
This strategy is temporary at best
Your gut feelings do not cease
Putting you to the test
Are you strong enough to listen when the gut says “what about the rest”
Shutting up when harm is being done to others does not help a single soul
It feeds the disease & prolongs the problem when truth is not being told.
In yoga there is a Yama “Satya” / “truth” that can be practiced in different ways.
Maybe to practice this is to realise ~
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal”
The day you realise it’s not just about me but “we” is the day you cannot fail.
Happy Martin Luther King Day.
Namaste
Tammy xox
As for those who find themselves judging those who speak up ~ think about who you are supporting and the ripple effect that has on the community.
For the brave souls who have encountered trauma not only from those who caused harm , but from the judgement or lack of support from others or our legal system I will leave you with a quote from Gandhi
This is one of the many reasons my Yoga journey , teaching and training others focuses on Personal Development, Integration & Mindfulness Based Modalities within Yoga. Because our little people are worth it! And we’ve all been little people.
Yes you may learn some fancy poses along the way, how to deliver fun Classes with great music (because we all deserve to have fun, after all we learn better and heal better when we do) BUT the deeper focus is HOW can we be of best service to our own health & well-being, so we understand what causes dis-ease. From that experience we can help remove unnecessary suffering for ourself and others.
Once you begin how to read the more subtle aspects of our energy centres (like the brain in the gut, which has a strong evidence base now on the impact of food, emotions and processing) you will begin to realise there are ways to be free of pain in many forms and be in good relationship with yourself.
The irony of this whole blog is , it’s spending time in silence and listening is how you learn a lot more about why yoga works .
You can then go back and integrate this insight & sensitivity with the postures and realise each of the postures when practised with Mindfulness (no not just paying attention) can have a therapeutic benefit for your mind, body and heart. And most of all your relationship and the ripple effect you have on your broader community.
This is why I am passionate about offering more private mentoring & programs such as the 500 hour to compliment the 200 hour program that many from around the globe have completed. The most common response being “Ive realised there is so much more to Yoga”
People are not always aware of the impact of the choices they are making, until something happens to make them pay attention.
(Doctor Dauway, a surgeon in Gladstone who completed our Yoga NRG Teacher Training will be sharing in our next Blog a little more about this and Mindfulness in regards to her role as a Surgeon.
If you we wish to learn , or wish for others to learn , then it is our duty to teach.
Click here for Yoga Teacher Training
Click here for Mindfulness Teacher Training
Also available for those who do not wish Teach but who want to do this for themselves ~ Private Mentoring Program
Contact us for more details