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. 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 parts 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.

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

So I built my life around yoga, digging myself in so deeply that not a single flaw or wound could go undiscovered. I let it, nay begged it to change me. Now, 25 years later, it worked. I’m perfect!

Just kidding. I’m still a mess. 

But I’ve learned 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 our first breath to our last. We are learning 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 with me. I’ll be right here, reminding you to breathe.

Erin has been practicing yoga for 25 years, and teaching yoga and meditation since 2014. She lives in Boulder, CO with her husband, kids, and dogs. When she’s not on the mat, she loves writing poetry, kayaking, and walking in the forest.