Years ago, I used to have a student who would say, ‘Carole, I come in here like a wrinkled up shirt, and you send me back out all ironed and pristine!’ That’s yoga in a nutshell…it irons us out physically, and it puts us straight mentally. Yoga is an all round therapy which works with the whole being. As one of my tee-shirts says, (one that was given to me by a beloved friend,) ‘Yoga will save the world’.
The best advice I can offer anyone who is going through a tough time is, ‘get out your yoga mat’. Even if all you can face is to lie there on the mat, you’re still absorbing the good yoga healing vibes. And, if after a few minutes, you can raise the energy to do your stretches and warm-ups, all well and good. Then you might feel like trying a posture or two, and in no time you’ve given yourself the gift of a yoga practice!
Yoga is a way of life. You can live your yoga in every moment…you can adhere to the Yamas – the first of Patanjali’s Eight Limbs. Stay with the rules of non-violence, non-lying, non-stealing, non-misuse of energy, non-greed. You can ‘return to the breath’ no matter what you’re doing. You can use your awareness to check your posture. You can remind yourself to drop your shoulders. Yoga becomes your support, your best friend, your constant advisor. It always amuses me when I bump into a student in the town and the first thing they do is to stand up straight, drop their shoulders, and smile!
So, if you’re feeling like a wrinkled shirt right now, get out your yoga mat and iron yourself straight!
Love, light and blessings, Carole.
OM Shanti Shanti Shanti
Yoga Prescribed 