by Ashleigh Nalini | May 3, 2015 1:13 am
You know, sometimes all it takes is to close your eyes, take a deep breath and realize, its time to let go. Whatever it is that bothers you, or feels heavy in your heart, its time to let it go. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s extremely hard, especially since, instead of dealing with our pain, we avoid them and act like we’ve let them go. But have we? Sometimes letting go actually means a lot more than just forgetting, like learning to trust again, or learning to forgive the people that hurt you. This is challenging. So how do we let go of our past pain? We don’t.
Sit With The Pain
This is how yoga played a big rule in helping me to forgive. You cannot run away from your past and this is definitely true when practicing yoga. Practice yoga. Practice lots of yoga. Yoga has been known to open up the body. When you open up the body, you also open up the chakras. Holding onto your past pain can build blockages into these chakras and when you practice yoga, over time these blockages can burst and break open causing emotions to arise. For me, it was the heart chakra that had been blocked. It’s our heart chakra that allows us to love and forgive others and ourselves. I have a difficult time letting go, but the more I practice yoga, the more I break through those blockages I built to protect myself. Often when we break through these blockages we feel vulnerable.
Allow Yourself To Feel Vulnerable
Vulnerability is a sign of strength. Let the pain consume you. Cry. Scream. Be okay for a while, than cry and scream again. Do whatever you need to do but let the pain consume your being. Feel the vulnerability of being in this state. I’ll tell you that pain will probably never leave, but you will learn to live with it. It will make you stronger and help you grow, and over time you may be able to look into your past pain and smile because you over came the pain and you know that the past no longer has any control over your life. Only than can you move on, without holding onto that pain.
The Power of Gratitude
Finally you have accepted the reality of what happened. And here you are, learning to live it with. So have you forgiven? Before you jump to conclusions, ask yourself “Does it affect my life in any way? ” If you answered no, than chances are you probably have forgiven. You now live your life without being attached to those emotions and pain. Forgiving those who have hurt you is a powerful way of accepting and honoring yourself. It’s a powerful way of telling the universe that you realize that you deserve to be happy. That you deserve to be free.
I can honestly say, that yoga has taught me to forgive. Instead of avoiding the pain and building walls to protect myself, like I had been doing for years, I sat with it. In each yoga posture, I was forced to listen. I was forced to feel. I was forced to be honest and raw with myself. In each pose I was there, in the present moment with nothing but the sound of my breath and the feeling of being vulnerable. And that’s when the real work began.
How can you expect to fill your being with love, when you are full of pain and hurt? You forgive. In order to create space for love, you must let go of the rest.
To all the yoga practices that taught me to forgive, thank-you. I am free.
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