Spirituality is NOT Passive + 3 Ways to Practice

"We have begun again upon a road we travelled on before and lost our way a little while. And now we try again."  ~ ACIM

As some of you already know, I am in Calgary on a little vacation and exploration.  A couple days ago I took a mini pilgrimage to Lake Louise.  A friend and I decided to climb the Ten Peaks trail.  We stood at the bottom and he pointed to the snow capped peak that looked impossibly far away and said "that is where we are going." Awe, fear, and a little anxiety stirred.  But in stronger disbelief, I said "ok".  Really, I convinced myself he got it wrong.  It was a 6 km ascent reaching 6800 feet altitude.  We started the climb and around 3km in my quads were burning, I felt light headed, and the inner whiny baby Megan was starting to kick in.  I heard myself thinking "this is too hard", "I can't do this", and "my hip hurts." I kept climbing.  1 hour, 45 minutes later we were at the top. I was exhausted and exhilarated.  I sat and wrote about the experience in my journal and in doing so realized that this climb, of any mountain really, is the analogy of our climb towards awakening, or journey of spirituality.  So often spirituality is viewed as passive.  Reclusive even.  But as we navigate through the beauty and ache of an embodied life, those of us committed to spirituality know that it demands fierce commitment, courage, and loads of strength. And that the hardest practice is when we are navigating the world. Like my trek up this mountain, our daily practice will require that we sit and witness those inner voices that get whiny, cranky, and ultimately want us to fail, stay separated. We will need to summon the will, power, and nerve sit with the discomfort and keep going. To breathe in to the aches and carry on. To keep steady when we want to give up. No, spirituality is Not a passive state.  It is the path of Warrioress/Warrior. It is the path of the Priestess/Priest. It is the path of the Goddess/God. It is the path of Fire. So to blow on the embers, here are 3 Practices to help you stay committed off the mat/cushion because spirituality is more that yoga, meditation, tai chi or going to church once a week. 1) Forgive.  Always. Forgive. Yourself first, then others. Untie. Unbind. Unwind. Forgive. 2) Surrender Retreat. Silence. Let go. Allow. Stop trying to do it all. Abdicate. 3) Self-care.  Radical, say No kinda self-care. Be honest with yourself self-care. Love yourself first self-care. Know your boundaries self-care. Take care of ALL of you. If you want to go deeper, expand bigger, and uplevel every area of your life in a way that is both transcendent, while still being grounded and tethered then these are your spiritual practices. You can see, and probably know, how not passive they are. They, like our more formal spiritual practices, require the same devoted substance that you have commanded to be where you are today. So I invite you to step in to your Light and not give up on yourself. You are stronger, more resilient, and capable. Love All ways,  Megan Xx Get 10 {FREE} Ten Minute Meditations + Weekly Inspiration Here Ottawa + Kitchener 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training "I have graduated from Megan's Sacred Movement Yoga Teacher Training and cannot praise her teachings enough.  I am so grateful for her approach to learning what Yoga truly is.  She brought me back to life, back to feeling emotion, and helped me realize the strength I have always had inside me.". .                                        Deposit now to Eager Beaver rates! Start September 2017 Yes Please!