Love yourself well.

So... I’ve noticed a thing in the yoga community. People like to pretend they’re perfect, or that they used to be perfect, or that they would be perfect if they could just fix this one thing. I get it. I do it, too.

But we’re here to practice - be it yoga, meditation, or just plain existing as a human in the world. And by definition, that means we’re all flawed, imperfect, maybe even broken. And we’re not alone. 

Just like everyone else, I was born into a body and a world that at times feels great, and at times feels absolutely miserable. In my 20s, the miserable part led me to yoga and meditation. I would get up before sunrise and tune into the local public access channel where a kind old lady with a perm and a leotard led a beginner’s yoga class. I found a powerful new respite there. I discovered that I am not just my body. I met my soul.

And I thought that I had finally found my path to perfection!

So I built my life around yoga, to dig myself so deeply into it that not a single flaw or wound could go unfixed. I let it, nay begged it to change me. And now, 20 years later, it worked! I’m completely perfect!

Just kidding. I’m still totally fucked up. 

But what I’ve learned is that what I have right now, in each present moment, is exactly what I need. I’m enough. 

No, we are not just our bodies. And we are not just our souls. We are both, dancing imperfectly together from first breath to last. We are making up the steps as we go.

So please, keep showing up, keep moving, and love yourself well. Don’t worry about the parts that are messy, ugly, weepy, or on fire. It’s cool. Just come do some yoga. I’ll be right here, reminding you to breathe.

Erin has been practicing yoga for 20 years, and teaching yoga, meditation, and childbirth education since 2012. She lives in Boulder, CO with her husband, kids, and dogs. When she’s not on the mat, she loves writing poetry, kayaking, and eating good food.