A Yogi’s Path to

Unconditional Love and Acceptance

~By Cortney Trebus, Yoga & Consciousness Instructor

Unconditional Love – affection/love without any limitation, stipulation, or conditions.  This love has no bounds and is unchanging.  It is selfless and forgiving; un-judging and compassionate.

This kind of love truly starts with the self.  Going in and accepting ourselves regardless of our flaws, our shadows, and our imperfections.

Accepting who you are right here, right now; not after you lose 50 lbs, or after you make a certain amount a year, just as you are today.

Not to say change will never take place, but it happens naturally.

When you love yourself, you begin to honor your needs.  For example, choosing not to eat the delicious smelling donut your coworker offered for free, but choosing instead to eat an apple that nurtures the body.  Not because you are “restricting” yourself, but because you love and honor your
body.

How do we get to this place of acceptance and love?

One way to practice this choice is through a yoga or movement practice.  By slowing down and connecting with the body, you begin to create a new relationship with yourself.  Start by checking in with yourself.

Notice if you are holding stress or tension anywhere.  See if you can relax or release.  Notice your thoughts, are they in the present?

As you begin to bring movement in, notice how it feels.  Find the feel-good poses, hold them and smile.  Find the uncomfortable poses, choose to breathe into them.  Learn to become comfortable with the uncomfortable.

Begin to accept yourself where you are. Maybe one side is tighter than the other. Maybe you can balance seemingly forever on one side, and the other you’re lucky to get 10 seconds.

Acknowledge, accept, and let go of the idea that you have to be perfect.  As you feel the love within, you can begin to bring acceptance in to all aspects of your life. Yoga is truly more than the physical practice; it is a way of being that offers emotional tools to navigate your path in life.

Yoga Poses for Acceptance

Child’s Pose – Bring your big toes together, knees to the width of the mat. Sit your hips back, elongating the spine. Hands can be placed either by your sides, or with your arms extended overhead.

Cobra – Bring the hands underneath the shoulders, pressing into the palms as you straighten through the arms. Roll your shoulders down and back, opening through the heart. Be mindful of your lower back in this position, if you feel any pain lower back down.

Down Dog – From table, tuck your big toes under and send the hips up and back making an upside down V like shape. Try to draw your heels down as close to the earth as possible.

Pigeon – From downward dog, use an inhale to lift your right leg. Exhale, bring the right knee in between the hands as you bring your right foot towards the left side of your mat. Begin to square your hips, adjusting as needed. Option here to fold forward over your right leg, creating a deeper stretch into the right hip.

Lizard – In a low lunge, bring both hands to the inside of your front foot, beginning to deepen the stretch in your right hip and left hip flexor. Option here to come down to the forearms for a deeper stretch.

Cortney is a reiki practitioner, tarot reader, and yoga teacher with a passion for mindfulness and acceptance.  Through yoga, she overcame daily anxiety and found acceptance and love for her body and soul.  She believes that peace and happiness come from within, and that we have the power to choose our own realities.  When she is not teaching yoga, you can find her reading a book, playing with her French Bulldog, or enjoying an iced coffee.

You can follow her spiritual journey on Instagram
@earthrootedsoul or her personal life @midnightmoonyogi.

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