By Silvia Mordini
Life is too short to keep walking down the beaten path. Yoga inspires us to uncover our fears and hesitations so we can grow and move past them to reach new uncharted potential. The way in which yoga changed my life is that it has made me stop putting my true desires and excitement for new experiences on hold.
This passion for life will transform you, as Pantanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, “When you are inspired by some great purpose all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world!”
There is no time to waste, get inspired by going on an adventure whether it be close to home or somewhere exotic. As written in, How We Choose to be Happy, “When you step away from the confines of realistic, you become an artist painting your own masterpiece, an explorer charting new territories. You are creating new ways of looking at situations; you innovate at work and at home. It’s impossible to be bored with your life.”
Just where exactly did my sense of adventure come from? The answer is simple, my father. Through constant travels both near and far, my father instilled in me the Yoga of Life, which is the Yoga of Adventure. I grew up traveling the world with my family and have always had a deep desire to share my experiences through the variety of yoga retreats I host. My father, originally from North Italy raised us in Ecuador, and with frequent travels all around the globe, my brother and I grew up calling the world our home. One could argue that being a citizen of the world is part of our family bloodline.
Photo by ramnath bhat
“Adventure is the willingness to commit to an uncertain outcome with an open heart and open mind.”
Every yoga class we take is essentially a compact adventure. We enter not knowing the exact poses, or the sequence with the outcome of the practice being the ultimate unknown. All that’s required in our practice is an open heart and an open mind so that we uncover the ability to take the leap into the unknown with mindfulness and grace.
“Exploration is the true essence of the human spirit!”
There is a great story in the book, “How We Choose to Be Happy” where when asked the question of why are you happy the interviewee responds, “I’ve tried my hand at a lot of things. Some of these I liked, some I did not. And I have no regrets. The point is, I kept moving. Any one of these choices were far less important than the fact that I just kept choosing.”
Take a moment and ask yourself:
- Are you excited about the direction of your life?
- When was the last time you tried something new?
- Do you need to know the outcome before trying something new?
- If you could choose to take any adventure which one would you choose?
Do not hold back. Have you always dreamed of doing yoga on the beach of a tropical island, or maybe you’ve wanted to savor the best wines of Tuscany, or get on two wheels and ride the slick rock of Moab’s red rock, or get lost in Indonesia?
I believe that by choosing to explore and embark on new adventures is just like learning new yoga sequences; we become more open to seeing the potential and possibilities for a life that make us feel alive. Today, update your bucket list and break free of needing to know the outcome before you make the attempt. Reclaim the joy of waking up each day excited about your life! Be the root cause of your own happiness.
Love yourself, love your day, love your life!
~Silvia
ABOUT THE WRITER
Enthusiasm to love your life is contagious around Silvia. Her expert passion connects people to their own joyful potential. Silvia lives her happiness in such a big way that you can’t help but leave her classes, workshops, trainings and retreats spiritually uplifted! Born in Ecuador, raised traveling around the globe, she is an enthusiastic citizen of the world and spiritual adventurer. She has over 10,000 hours and 15 years of teaching experience, owned a yoga studio for 9 years and after being run over by a car used yoga to recover physically and emotionally. Silvia leads Alchemy Tours Yoga Retreats and Alchemy of Yoga RYT200 Yoga Teacher Training. Join her on Twitter to keep inspiring greater happiness by answering the question #YRUHappy. Connect with Silvia on Twitter and Facebook and learn more about her story at www.alchemytours.com or www.silviamordini.com.
Feature photo by mikebaird
