Living Your Dreams
What does living your dreams mean to you?
In yoga we speak to your dharma, when we speak to living your dreams. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, dharma is the basic principles of cosmic or individual existence and conformity to one’s duty and nature.
Dharma signifies that there is a right way for every person to carry out their life. You can ignore your dharma, however it will remain there, waiting for you. Dharma is part of your very nature. You cannot stop dreaming or stop being who you are.
When you practice yoga and meditation, it provides the place you need to slow down and listen to your dharma. It gives you a chance to stop being busy and do something for yourself. When you slow down, you give your heart the opportunity to be heard. When you do not provide those opportunities for your dharma to be heard, you are allowing your old stories to clutter up your mind.
Living a life that is authentic takes daily practice. Everyday you have to chose to live the best day or not. There are times when you have big dreams, you can find yourself frozen, feeling overwhelmed. If you simplify and focus on what you can do today to support those big dreams, everything feels more achievable, making the path more clear.
Dharma changes with you as you go through life. “The dharma of the baby may be to suckle, the dharma of the teenager to study, and the adult’s dharma may be to reach her spiritual destiny. What’s more, a given phase may hold not one dharma but many. You may simultaneously be a yoga teacher, a parent, and an activist for a sane government.” according to Dr. Timothy McCall at Yogajournal.com.
Finding your dharma is a continual process. You can’t know what you’re supposed to do until you try a few things. And sometimes, what you discover will surprise you. During a Yoga Teacher Training weekend here at Halifax Yoga, a friend recently discovered her dharma was to be a medical doctor. Now it is up to her to take the steps in her daily life to allow that dream to reveal itself fully.
Yoga Teacher Training is a great way to create space and discover your purpose; likewise yoga and meditation also work equally well. It is a matter of allowing your mind the space and time to connect with your dharma. “By spending time alone with yourself regularly, tuning in to your sensations and emotions, and pushing your physical limits, you develop the ability to notice your patterns. And if you’re sensing you need to change those patterns” says Elena Brower.
The next step to living your dharma and realizing your dreams is to take action.
Ask yourself: What can I do today to live my dreams and connect with my dharma?
About Raechelle Masuda
Yoga has become an important part of Raechelle’s life, and her practice has helped her grow stronger, more flexible and fearless, both on and off the mat. Raechelle is passionate about her family, writing, being active, reading and adventure. She started out part of Halifax Yoga’s Energy Exchange, then joined HY’s Yoga Teacher Training in the Fall of 2017. She is now the assistant manager at Halifax Yoga and is excited to share her passions and inspirations.
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