Kung Stina

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/ryWOpZOEkWo” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture” allowfullscreen=””></iframe><br><br><p>Yoga and compassion are like two peas in a pod. Compassion and yoga are interdependent: you cannot have one without the other. Yoga is a practice; a practice that requires the yogi to steady extend compassion to oneself as well as to others. The extension of compassion grants forgiveness of allowing our egos to rear their ugly heads. Just as yoga is a practice so is the act of compassion. The practice of any type requires patience and forgiveness because perfectionism will drop by unannounced, begging to be let in and seeking a like-minded company. </p><br><p> Compassion is a word that we are taught at a very young age to use but are never actually told the real significance behind it. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, compassion is a sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Compassion truly reminds us that we are all human beings doing the best we can with what we have at that moment. </p><br><p><img src=”https://www.yogajournal.com/.image/t_share/MTU1MzQ0MjQxNTU4NTYyNDk4/chrissy-carter-childspose.jpg” alt=””><br></p><br><p> For one reason or another, we have convinced ourselves that we can get through this life without help. We all struggle and at times, feel alone in our struggles. For most of us, our first response to any type of struggle or feeling of discomfort is to run, run far away from the pain. Facing uncomfortable situations means to crack open your heart and become vulnerable and that is terrifying for most people. </p><br><p> To pour one’s heart out on a rubber mat lying shoulder to shoulder with other imperfect beings; there is not a single thing purer than that. When we step onto our mats, stand shoulder to shoulder with other humans and so very desperately try to lay our egos down, only then can we experience true compassion? Yoga is raw, vulnerable and real — the purest form of humanity.</p><br><p> If you are a living, breathing being, you have been face-to-face with two constants in this life: pain and change, both of which are inevitable. You may have even sat with them for days, weeks or even years. You have may gotten up from the table before the conversation even began. If you stay at the table long enough, compassion will join and then suggest that you attend a yoga class.</p>