The inner journey begins as the first breath is taken with awareness. Looking within is becoming aware of our body and what it feels. So often, we go through life detached from ourselves. We float through our day rarely pausing to take a deep breath and notice how it feels. Little focus is placed on the body, yet it holds so much knowledge, and so many experiences and memories. Above all, it possesses the ability to guide us when we feel lost. If we can slow down long enough to simply breathe and be present in the moment, we begin to notice each part of our body and what it is experiencing and expressing.

When we practice yoga, we are pulled out of our normal state of mental chatter, our judgment of ourselves and of others, and our natural tendency to focus on the past and the future. We become, instead, focused on the body and the breath and only this moment in time. That intense focus brings us into a place of peace and calm within. From this calm center, it becomes easy to see the answers to questions we ask ourselves. Looking within, we can heal past wounds. We develop inner strength to move forward with confidence and a sense of higher knowledge. We learn from our fears rather than running from them. When we take time to turn our attention within, we can reconnect to our spirit, and that place inside us that feels like home.

Slowly but surely, life becomes brighter. We breathe and move with ease, and the rewards of that inner journey begin to seep into everyday life.