And now the practice begins ~ Sutra 1.1
The practice of yoga begins with the end in mind: there is more to you than you see. There’s a part of you that was not born and cannot be taken away.
This is wholeness, and it suggests that you are pure spirit in human form—higher level you + street level you—one not better than the other, but together walking hand-in-hand, forevermore. And the teaching is clear: don't take anyone’s word for it. It says this is not something we can simply hear and know; we have to translate this understanding for ourselves.
The practice of stepping onto a yoga mat or sitting on a meditation cushion invites us to investigate—to know from our own experience what happens when you quiet the mind, steady the breath, and bring the mind, body, and heart together in one place.
And now the practice begins
Your feet connected to the earth
The breath breathing the body
Your mind and heart, right here in the moment
Spirit, something tangible, something bigger than you, but no less a part of you
The experiment is to know—what exists right here?
Over and over, in any and all circumstances, it suggests we develop the skill of becoming so present that we learn to override the habits and tendencies we humans have for running from what lives and breathes in real time.
And now the practice begins
Allow the stillness of the world around you, and know for yourself: do you feel more connected, present, or engaged?
This is the commitment we make: to align and repeatedly realign with the present moment. Right here, just as you are, in the sacred present moment, requiring no special preparation or perfect timing.
And now the practice begins
In 2021, I stepped away from teaching yoga and pursued a completely new career path. I loved the work I did during that chapter; however, I knew something was missing. I had packed up my yoga career as if it were a set of mementos I could stow away in the garage. I thought I could tuck decades of prayer, ritual, and self-study into a corner and expect her to stay quiet. But I had lost the connection with the spaces that allowed me to touch my divinity, to experience my wholeness, and for some time, I truly didn’t know how to find her. I felt as if I were a lightbulb that had forgotten electricity existed.
I went to mentors and spiritual guides with this dilemma. The fear I shared was that when my career ended, the part of me connected to a higher power was cut off. I didn’t feel like I could access the same energetic exchange I was so in tune with when I stood at the front of yoga class. Everyone—my therapist, an energetic healer, a voodoo priestess, and an acupuncturist—told me the same thing: “Talk to your plants,” play music for them, practice singing bowls for them, and you will find what you are looking for. I didn’t discredit this advice, but I was surprised by the consistency of the answer.
I had been searching for the light that would illuminate the path forward, forgetting that it can only be discovered by walking it.
And now the practice begins
One thought
One breath
One step
One loving right action at a time
Wherever you are, there are no prerequisites for this. What I had long taught, I was not allowing for myself.
Our work begins right here, and now the practice begins by guiding ourselves into the present moment and allowing ourselves to learn how to be with what is there.
One particular healer said to me:
“Baby, love and beauty have left the building. You forgot you are a queen. You need to stand up and walk into the mystery with eyes wide open. If the rain don’t fall, the corn don’t grow—go into the sadness, go into the grief of what you feel like you have lost because your tears will water the seeds of your intentions. This is both a privilege and a responsibility,” She said, “when you learn to embrace the mystery, you will stop blocking your own blessings.”
And now the practice begins
I had been running, not allowing who I was to meet who I was becoming. I had forgotten, and we learn that forgetting is guaranteed. But once I allowed myself to be present in the most ordinary of moments, I was reminded that I had access to the sacred whenever I chose to engage. She was always right here, bigger than me but no less a part of me.
It takes courage to become who we've always been. But my experience is that it’s worth the effort to explore what happens when I drop below the level of thinking and allow myself into the sacred, present moment—feet on the earth, breath breathing the body, mind, and heart in one place, spirit, pure awareness, beauty, and love, all right here.
And now the practice begins
Cynthia Latimer
