Let Go of Shame & Free Your Heart

When we shame ourselves we give away all of our power.

When we shame ourselves we let it be known inherently in every cell of our body that we are not worthy of feeling better, that we are not worthy of compassion, that we are not worthy of growth.

I’m nuts

I’m angry

I’m a jerk

I’m a cheater

I’m a drug addict

I’m annoying

I feel guilty

I shouldn’t have done that

What’s wrong with me?

This other person doesn’t need what I need

All of these thoughts rob you of yourself. You are none of these things, you are a human being having an experience or releasing an old experience that has caused you suffering.

These shadows we are told be ashamed of are just little hisses of the demons escaping. So many of us are so intent on shoving the shadows away and judging them that we never allow them to simply be released.

Sitting in this place, instead of judging it unkindly, allows you to hear and to see what needs to be learned, so that you can move in peace and wisdom.

If I hadn’t gone through (and sometimes continue to go through) deep pain I would never be able to help others. If I had still gone through that deep pain but allowed the voices of certain people in my life to rob me of my experience, my right to the pain, my right to acknowledge it, sit with it and release it I would never have grown to this extent, and we would never be able to help others change their lives.

Shame is just bullshit -plain and simple. Shame is to say I hate myself, there is something wrong with me, I am not like the others. When really, it is our pain and our messy human existence that connects us all; and yet we suffer at the hands of depression, anger, violence, fear, oppression, self hatred, lack of space, ego.

This is because we all demand each other to hide it away, to bury it deep.

There is no room for shame here. There is only room for compassion of the self, the experiences that need healing, and the knowingness that you are perfect.

Shame holds us back, shame damages us and whips our heads around, shame poisons our hearts and keeps us stuck in the muck unable to sit in joyful painful silence and see that there is so much beauty in that which we are told to be ashamed of.

Every part of you is worthy + every part of you deserves loving attention.

“Facing the shadow, naming it, reframing it, retrieving it into consciousness, and including and accepting all parts of yourself will, ultimately, lead to integration and healing” –Tarot Celebrations

#happyheartyogashala #sadness #depression #shame #transformation #peace #yogapractice