If you´d have come to one of my yoga retreats a few years ago you would have found a more naive Me teaching, as a hardcore yoga philosophy girl who clung to her battered copy of the Yoga Sutras like a clutch, that yoga was all about the mind, that yoga was all about service sacrifice and ethics, that yoga was all about this and all about that and it literally took years of practice, study and working on myself to realise that fulfilment/happiness/joy/ spirituality/peace isn't a one-stop-shop for all. It doesn't look the same, it doesn't feel the same and if it's truly fulfilling, it should be beneficial for every aspect of your life, not just one sector of it. But why is that? Why is the definition of true fulfilment, not the way we all traditionally see it and experience it? Surely those strict, judging and extreme yogic attitudes never garnered much success? After all, isn´t that why the Buddha coined the term The Middle Path. So here's why fulfilment shouldn't and can't look the same for all of us…
I guess for the majority of us, at least at one time or another, our first instinct in defining fulfilment, likely would have been the classic working in a job you love, finding true love, balancing your work with your home, owning a beautiful house, maybe having a few cute children or pets - all while being surrounded by a supportive circle of friends and being able to find time to focus on your healthset too. I know as a mama, business owner, wife, teacher, house owner, friend, daughter, dog mummy and wellness lover I did just that and I struggled when I thought I should then have been totally fulfilled... and yet I wasn´t. It's an experience that has defined how and what I now teach as a yoga teacher, retreat host and woman, it´s clear that the classic model of fulfilment is starting to feel outdated in our society, especially one that has endured a certain level of suffering over the past year. Not only are the effects of the last year shaping our ideals in lasting positive ways but as the opportunity to take on far different concepts has expanded - the definition of fulfilment has had to change accordingly with It and the word SOUL is on the tip of everyone's tongue.
I can only assume the first thing that would come to mind when many people hear the word soul, would be what an enlightened being embodies/nurtures and probably a far-out concept we can´t get to grips with. One thing you certainly wouldn't hear often is people exclaiming is how their soul feels - but for me now, it is almost as productive and balanced as life can get. What makes your soul sing? What makes your soul cry? What makes your soul grow? Have you ever really sat down and asked yourself these questions. Your soul is the real part of you, it´s not your body or your mind or your ego or stories, it´s YOU. A soul needs to be filled with purposeful work, it fundamentally needs to serve and give generously to others, creates good actions and kind words, fun in the sun, fun in the rain, organic friendships, great food and drink, time to recharge and cuddles with your sweethearts, hobbies, creativity, dance, music, laughter, tears, pain, transformation and ultimately love galore. If your soul likes shopping for pretty dresses or the latest technological gadget, fine, if your soul wants to live in a camper van - great, if your soul wants to live in a big house by the sea, great… do you get where I am going here. I learned a long while ago now that fulfilment looks, and feels so very different for every single one of us. I also realised it's so very easy to see how one person lives and in turn decimate our own interpretation of fulfilment. Yet what could be fulfilling for one person could be wildly unproductive for another, but that's something we have to learn, accept and act on.
During my hardcore yoga days when I thought suffering was the fast track to get my yogini brownie points, I lost my sparkle and now I've found that with the emergence of my truth, it's become very easy to feel that sense of inner joy if I honour all parts of myself. It´s so easy for people to insinuate that fulfilment comes before hard work or that it is something to be achieved in the future when you have acquired this/that/things and yet with that comes a certain amount of intrusive thoughts and yet what I have discovered is that fulfilment is a labour of love, a day to day journey that should be unapologetically unique to you and your soul, as well as benefitting all the facets of you that exist. Fulfilment can look as different as you'd like it to look and don't let anyone else sway that for you - you do you.
Maybe you´d like to take a few days this summer to touch in deeply with your Soul and REMEMBER who you truly are, if so I would love to invite you on my unique Soul Rememberance retreat this August in Spain from the 22nd-29th. You can read more HERE.
PS: I´d love to know: What things make your soul sing?
Love Kat xx
L
