Virginia Shay
Like many people, I first approached yoga with the hope that it would help me relieve chronic pain and tightness in my back, shoulders, and neck. I started out doing some pretty basic stretches, which provided some relief from the pain, but once I began practicing at Fearless Heart, I discovered a couple of things that I strive to impart to students in my teaching.
The first is that yoga can be life-changing in the way it empowers us to change maladaptive movement patterns and postural habits—if we combine stretch and release of tired, over-strained muscles with strengthening and learning to fire weak, underused muscles. The second is that all the tissue in our body is connected. Sometimes when we’re in pain or feel tight, we tend to hone in on particular areas of the body with the intent to “change” them. But everything is connected! If we want to relieve pain or tightness, we must involve the whole body in this effort. And sometimes this means accepting that we won’t see the kind of radical change we might be hoping for, all at once. Rather, yoga provides us with opportunities to develop a deep self-awareness that gets us more intimately acquainted with our whole body, and this acquaintance is where much of yoga’s healing power lies.
I completed my teacher training at Fearless Heart in May 2016, and I’m highly motivated to continue furthering my education. In particular, I’m fascinated by how yoga can help us maintain joint health and mobility, and by how it can serve as a tool for people seeking to heal from trauma. I find inspiration for my teaching and practice in many places, but in particular, I’m influenced by the work of Michael Stone, Kathryn Bruni-Young, Peter Levine, and Ana Forrest.
To me, being fearless is choosing to be present in your body. It’s choosing to give your attention to this moment, this present; it’s choosing to disrupt the stories we tell ourselves all day long about how our experiences are connected to the past and what they mean for the future. Some days, this might mean that I have only one or two truly fearless moments, and that’s okay—each moment is a chance to give it another try.
The first is that yoga can be life-changing in the way it empowers us to change maladaptive movement patterns and postural habits—if we combine stretch and release of tired, over-strained muscles with strengthening and learning to fire weak, underused muscles. The second is that all the tissue in our body is connected. Sometimes when we’re in pain or feel tight, we tend to hone in on particular areas of the body with the intent to “change” them. But everything is connected! If we want to relieve pain or tightness, we must involve the whole body in this effort. And sometimes this means accepting that we won’t see the kind of radical change we might be hoping for, all at once. Rather, yoga provides us with opportunities to develop a deep self-awareness that gets us more intimately acquainted with our whole body, and this acquaintance is where much of yoga’s healing power lies.
I completed my teacher training at Fearless Heart in May 2016, and I’m highly motivated to continue furthering my education. In particular, I’m fascinated by how yoga can help us maintain joint health and mobility, and by how it can serve as a tool for people seeking to heal from trauma. I find inspiration for my teaching and practice in many places, but in particular, I’m influenced by the work of Michael Stone, Kathryn Bruni-Young, Peter Levine, and Ana Forrest.
To me, being fearless is choosing to be present in your body. It’s choosing to give your attention to this moment, this present; it’s choosing to disrupt the stories we tell ourselves all day long about how our experiences are connected to the past and what they mean for the future. Some days, this might mean that I have only one or two truly fearless moments, and that’s okay—each moment is a chance to give it another try.