Monday, August 10, 2015

French Yoga Lesson

Mais oui! Yoga in French, pourquoi pas? I just got back from a family vacation in Québec. So lovely! I was reminded of prior years I spent in France, a time before I had ever practiced yoga...

I heard and spoke a lot of French on vacation and one expression got me thinking about one of the niyamas in the Yoga Sutras and the Eight Limbs of Yoga: santosha. It means contentment, being at ease, comfortable in oneself and at peace in the present moment. The French expression is bien dans sa peau, se sentir ou être bien dans sa peau. The literal meaning of this expression to be "well in one's skin," to feel good in one's body, comfortable. A person who feels this way has achieved a state of harmony between the mind and the body, so that the body doesn't feel like a prison and the mind doesn't feel like a taskmaster. 

Another French expression:  mal à l'aise, ill at ease. We've all felt this way at times, some of us more than others. How can Yoga help?

Yoga helps us to feel at home in our body, maintaining a healthy body/mind connection, moving and breathing in an embodied way. The care, attention and consciousness we bring to our breath and movement, along with the contentment we cultivate in meditation and relaxation make us feel bien dans la peau, content, at ease. 

We all have a right to be bien dans sa peau, to experience santosha, contentment. When we experience stress and trauma, we sometimes disconnect from our natural state of harmony and ease. Let your yoga practice bring you back into balance. Vive le Yoga!