Guest Author - Paula Petrie

"Do thy work in the peace of Yoga and, free from selfish desires, be not moved in success or in failure. Yoga is evenness of mind - a peace that is ever the same." -The Bhagavad-Gita

My nine-year-old son has reached a rite of passage, a sad loss of innocence. He is becoming self-conscious in his imaginative play. When he dresses himself as a pirate or reconnaissance man to begin a playful adventure, he looks for a private corner of the yard, where a passerby can’t see him.

It is sad to witness a delightful, free, young man manage and restrict his movements. I realize this will continue throughout his life till a gym membership, or another socially acceptable undertaking controls his exercise.

Thankfully, it is through the strength of those who have gone before that we do have acceptable routines like yoga to satisfy our souls. The funny thing about yoga is that I used to watch my son as an infant perform various yoga moves as a form of body strengthening to prepare himself to stand and walk.

The practice of yoga helps with physical balance. It makes us stronger. Yoga postures allow us to be in the present moment with our bodies. Yoga is meant to relax the mind from a thinking state to just “being.” The freedom to move and become.

While I watched my infant son naturally undertaking these ancient movements, twinges of guilt prompted the obvious, “A baby can go from an inexperienced mass of fat and incompetence, to a strong and capable runner in a few short months. How could I, who only suffered stretched skin and few extra pounds, continue to be in such bad shape?”

If we followed our own paths of imagination and body movement, what could we come up with? How easy it would probably be to stay toned, active and happy. Possibly our self-imposed controls and restriction are what cause us to shut down and over-indulge in things we know we shouldn’t.

I know from personal experience, that being over-weight and lacking skin or muscle tone compounds the feelings of self-consciousness, to the point of virtual inactivity. I also realize that natural body movement is a universal thing. Yoga is as natural to an infant as it is an ancient practice. Any action my body would aspire to would also be universally understood. Just look at dance.

I work to encourage my son to be himself and not give in to feelings of shyness or embarrassment. But I know he, at least to a degree, will conform to socially acceptable movement.

It is not that I disagree with skills prsctice. The yoga observance of “Santosha” is practiced to develop contentment and acceptance of what is, through gratitude, joyfulness, and the ability to remain calm with success or failure, regardless of external circumstance.

For my personality, yoga and palates are forms of exercise I enjoy. However, continual blocks of time set aside for exercise, I don’t enjoy or at least can‘t remain committed to. But I love to stop and challenge myself with a strength, stretch, or balance skill, while in the midst of cooking, reading, or cleaning. For me to be happy and toned requires that I “practice” being myself, until my nature moves me, as uninhibited as a child's once more.