Rather than my own words I’d like to share with you these words from Toko-Pa Turner. I feel them deeply. Yoga is ultimately a practice of being. Practice shows me how to be with myself, how to be present to others, how to allow others to be present to me. If there’s anything I consistently desire to improve upon and realize, it’s this. May we continue to remember our essential Self and bear witness to that Self in one another.
“Like the physical flinging open of our doors to guests, we can cultivate a quality of hospitality in our presence which signals to the other that they are welcome in our company just as they are.
This quality naturally emerges when we put down our own maneuverings long enough to be truly interested in who someone is, what they need, and what they love. Simply put, it is to clear an opening in our hearts for the other to take shelter.
When your presence is hospitable, the other can become their essential self in your company, even if just for a holy moment.
One of the greatest contributions we can make to our communities is to hold this welcoming presence for others, without any presumption that they give something in return or conform to our expectations, without giving into the temptation to change, fix, or solve their questions for them.
This presence silently communicates that it believes in the part of them that knows which way to go. And they can feel that. With their inner knowing reflected, they begin to move in the right direction.”
This is the energy I’ll be bringing to opening our doors at Maitri Yoga Troy, to welcoming our new group of Yoga Teacher Trainees this November and to every opportunity I have to share space with you, virtually or in-person as we share in the beautiful practice of yoga.
Meghan Hogan, E-RYT 500, CCC-SLP is Lead Faculty for the Yoga Vidya Teacher Training and In-Depth Studies program, a Speech-Language Pathologist supporting preschool children with disabilities and their families, a wife and mother.
Her mission in sharing yoga is to provide caregivers of all walks of life tools for self-care and stress management.