ALIGNMENT

Literal meaning: A position in arrangement or alliance

The first time I heard this word in a yoga related context was when my yoga teacher instructed us to do downward dog asana in class. At that time it meant nothing other than gaining complete benefit from correct posture. But over the years this meaning grew deeper in other than physical terms.

My teacher during class would often say “Listen to your body”. When I heard it for the first time I laughed out loud ignorantly (thought she was high). But the seriousness with which she kept repeating the phrase made me wonder. I then decided to seek clarification and she explained: “Riya, have you ever experienced a headache?” I nodded yes. “How do you know what’s going to make you feel better, a cup of tea/ coffee or a massage? It’s because your body is indicating what it needs and you are listening to it (unknowingly). Likewise, our body is always communicating but we have to take the efforts to listen.” This was a very simple example, but a huge eye opener for me. This meant that anytime we chose to ignore the communication we would face problems.

To make this communication evident we have to be constantly aware and connected to our body. It’s going be very difficult to even realize that there is a channel we need to tune into. The communication in the start almost feels absent because it’s no more than a whisper. But as you grow in your practice and pay attention it becomes more evident and expands (just like any other areas in our lives).

This may feel very absurd at the start and you may even feel that I’m high. That’s because firstly, we were never taught about this in school. Secondly, due to our extreme external focus introspection seems completely irrelevant.

The day I realized this it opened a whole new aspect in life for me. I became more disciplined with my yoga practice. I got better with my physical alignments and that directly deepened my emotional sense of being. I became more aligned and aware of my likes, dislikes, goals, and purpose. Besides my asana practice, meditation helped to strengthen the alignment and communication.

 It made my intuitive feelings stronger as well. I’ve learned to embrace and seek guidance from it the stronger I practiced.

Ever experienced resistance during tasks that you pretended to enjoy? Try recollecting such an experience and recall the awkwardness in your body. My role model Marie Forleo says ‘Your body communicates to you in a way that sometimes your mind can’t interpret.’ Fun fact right?

Alignment has been a key factor for me to feel centered and grounded. Any situation which makes me feel unhappy, I meditate and analyze to gain more understanding of what doesn’t align with my values/goals. It’s made problem-solving quite simple. It’s easier said than done and there are no quick fixes. But as soon as I get aligned I find an answer for sure.