At the heart of yoga is a doorway for how to connect and experience the truth of who we are in both a relationship to ourSelves and to others.

And that doorway is stillness.

Whether in savasana using little effort or handstand using all your strength and willpower, yoga calls us to find the still, quiet point in every posture. It teaches us how to remain centered while in action so we can stay rooted in our Truth in the most uncomfortable of circumstances.

During yoga class we first connect to our body and learn to move intelligently within it. As we develop this intelligence of movement we then work to strengthen the connection of movement-to-breath. This is not an easy task, but it’s the doorway.

Our breath connection is the gateway to stillness.

Every time I think of stillness I see it as being WITH mySelf in order to KNOW mySelf as well as others. And this, I would argue, is the root of all yoga.

That is, to be awake and relaxed within the motion of life, in relationship to others, and to no longer entertain judgmental thoughts and fall prey to social conditioned habits. The root of yoga teaches us to simply pay attention to the moment at hand, the breath-by-breath rhythm and experience the Wholeness of all beings.

As we begin to find that inner stillness, we begin to peel the onion of our ego and experience life a little differently. The light of life becomes brighter.

But in order to rise up we must first root down. 

Maintaining a strong connection to the roots of yoga as the sacred space with which to develop our still point – no longer engaged with our mind’s chatter and removed from external expectations – is how we ultimately expand outside our Self and into the Whole.

This is our call.

This is the heart of yoga.

How do you root down to rise up? Let us know in the comments box below.

Allison Antoinette

Allison Antoinett is the newest addition to evolation yoga with a background in Ashtanga and Kundalini yoga alongside holistic nutrition. er inquisitive brai inds joy in Eastern traditions and looks to help improve a quality of life for all.