Release the shame and share the wisdom

This week the Telegraph Journal newspaper in New Brunswick published a story on our yoga programs which we are introducing to 40 plus teachers this weekend. In the story, it mentions that in my grade 12 year of high school, from the pressure of being a top basketball recruit along with a series of deaths in the family, I fell victim to anorexia.

Throughout the interview I noticed a part of me that still feels shame and humiliation for my past. Despite my temptation to keep it safely tucked away, near the end of the phone interview I felt compelled to share about my past struggles. It’s a beautiful synchronicity how yoga, the practice that pulled me from the clutches of a very compelling disease, is now being taught in the very high school I graduated from.

Mid morning that day, I received a number of emails from young women who are currently suffering from eating disorders, thanking me for being a symbol of hope for them. Receiving their messages moved me deeply, reminding me that those seven years of hell that I endured were not all wasted years. In fact, because my encounter with Anorexia redirected my life so dramatically, I now refer to it as my shamanic illness.

It’s all too easy to hide the bits of ourselves that we believe are not so pretty…but hiding only fosters the socially induced separation that is causing so much suffering today. Expanding our awareness helps us to we realize that we have much more in common than we could ever imagine. We share the same the molecules, the same energy fields and the same consciousness. As we let the walls tumble down around us, we let the light in, and other people. 

Each individual soul has a reason for being here, and lessons to acquire. Our purpose in being here is to grow, understand and learn to love.  No need to criticize your journey or anyone else’s; just be respectful of your efforts to grow beyond your current limiting views.

Mark Twain once wrote “The masses of men (and women) live lives of silent desperation.” If you are struggling silently with something, give yourself permission to share with a trusting source. And if you have a regular yoga practice, you are aware of the feelings it can unearth. After class, feel free to hang around to de-brief, process and connect.

Sharing life experiences with others can soothe our wounds and propel us into healing.

To the journey,

Jenny