Thursday, December 16, 2010
I have walked up and down Riverside Drive, and through the village of Haliburton hundreds of times in my life in this village. It is a beautiful town all year round. As we approach the end of the year and the days keep getting shorter I still love to walk because now people have carefully placed Christmas lights to brighten up their homes, their businesses and the local park. The homes and the streets shine in a different way at this time of year. Not only are the outsides beautiful, but often I can see light shining from the inside out. We all take such care to make our homes inviting, festive and cozy at this time of year. We take the time to dig through the closets and the basements and the attics, and under the bed to find all the special decorations (even the frog that sings Jingle Bells and drives me crazy every Christmas). We make the time to intentionally brighten up our homes in our unique way. For some it is big and fancy, others a simple plant or display of Christmas cards.
The interesting thing about this time of year (which is often challenging for those of us who like the longer days and being able to sit outside at 8:00 at night) is that we need the shorter days and the darkness to see the beauty of the inner and outer lights on our houses and businesses. We need the dark as much as we need the light. It invites different possibilities and opportunities into our lives.
The yogi's think of their bodies as their homes and use all kinds of images and language to encourage people to treat their "inner dwelling" with complete love and respect. We need to give our bodies the same kind of attention and dedication that we give to our families, work, community life and hobbies.
Yoga is a practice where we regularly turn inward (into every corner of our bodies) so that we can find and cultivate our own inner light and then it shine out brightly into the world. Every time I look at a beautiful set of Christmas lights I am reminded of this process. It is magical. Enjoy all the beautiful decorations inside and outside this season.
Lynda Shadbolt wants to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas from all of the instructors and students at Blue Sky Yoga Studio. May your home be filled with lots of love and light!