Parvati Magazine May 2014 - Feeling Alive | Page 9

YOGA
My yoga mat was my
altar where I could
breathe, move and stay
with each moment, with
each day. It is through
my yoga practice that
I prayed, felt, allowed
myself to breathe into the
uncertainty and pain of
my daily life. I could observe the thoughts, emotions and physical tension
that had been holding
me back. I clung to the
need to control, protect
and feel “safe”, only to
discover that this kept me
from fully living.
My yoga practice became a reflection of my
inner journey. I practiced
yoga daily, breathing
and staying with difficult
postures that helped me
breathe into and stay in
the difficult moments in
my life where helplessness
resided. To move into
and feel the inner struggles, fears and overbearing emotions that kept
me stagnant on the mat,
and off. As I stayed with
my breath and was present, I was able to gain
strength on the mat and
see where I was getting

in the way. Where my
mind was speaking, not
my body. Letting myself
be vulnerable on the
mat, led to awareness
and great compassion,
and accepting support
and guidance from others.

fears to drive me to live a
life of courage and purpose, the life of a warrior.
I show up each day authentically bringing with
me both the light and the
dark, and all the magnificence in between. I show
up as me.

Through yoga, meditation and guidance, I
summoned courage to
look within myself with
kindness and tenderness
as I stayed with the uncomfortable moments
and the panic attacks
where I held my breath
in fear. In facing myself,
I began the journey of
cultivating self-love. I was
able to stay with emotions and get grounded
within myself, and feel at
home in my body, mind
and heart. I was starting to feel alive. I gained
strength, mental clarity,
determination and inner
peace that led to daring
changes in my life that
would shift everything.

I stay present with each
moment, feeling grateful
for everything that comes
my way, building a life
that fills my inner purpose and fills my whole
being with light. I have
unlocked my heart and
let myself love with abandon, with no certainty of
how it will play out.

Feelings of doubt and
immense fear still show
up, but my fierce spirit is
stronger. Now, I use my

I am grateful for every
lesson of this journey, as it
has led me back to myself, to feel, live and love
with surrender. It led me
to strength I never knew I
had, and allowed me to
dare to be and do things
without certainty of the
outcome. It has helped
me to discover that failure leads to wisdom,
creativity and a warrior
spirit that never gives up.
I AM ALIVE!

Ella Isakov is a humanitarian and certified passion for community and
Crystal Ellis is an early 30s Yoga gal with a yoga instructor in the Toronto
area. She teaches Vinyasa flow, Restorative, and kids yoga classes. She in a
continuous learning. She can always be found with her head in a book, is
a leader in the Toronto yoga community and on the committee of “Yoga
silly yoga pose, or sharing her musings over on her blog or Twitter. With a fiery
Unite,” a yoga initiative that holds fundraisingothers to see their awareness
personality she constantly strives to motivate events to create greatness,
for diverse non-profit organizations at the Toronto area thaton her journey at
while always making sure to laugh in herself. Follow along are creating
change. Ella is also a Phoenix Rising yoga therapist, writes articles for several
yogicrystal.wordpress.com or on Twitter at @YogiCrystal.
magazines, is a certified raw food chef, and leads holistic yoga retreats
several times a year.
For more information on Ella, please visit yoginipath.com and
stellarkidsyoga.com.