In case you forgot, or no one told you today,

In case you ever doubt it, or feel as though it’s not enough,

In case you feel a little sluggish, or uninspired or mean,

In case you see your shadows in hiding,

I’ve come today to remind you so clearly

That you are what beauty looks like, without trying.

No matter what you’re doubting deep down in your bones,

You are what beauty feels like.

Because you are made of starstuff,

Cosmic shining stardust

The universe sings wild lullabies in your bright eyes

And it sees itself in mine.

The light of God, the light of good, the light of life that’s taken fire

Reflects back to the world a pure brilliance of US-ness

In our wholeness

You are enough.

In case you forgot, or forget later today,

In case you never knew it and crave something fresh,

In case you don’t see it or try not to feel it,

In case you need to hear it,

You are beauty.

tse.

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This poem is today’s offering to the collective consciousness that is our world. So often in class, we go through these sequences of asana and get lost in sensations of not strong enough, not bendy enough, not thin enough, not willing enough… not good enough. The will to keep moving forward in a practice sometimes bulldozes the internal voice that tells us we’ve HAD enough and need to rest, putting us beyond our edges of ability and safety. In that struggle, the not enough voice starts speaking a little louder. This is a dangerous game we can play with ourselves, and today, I offer you permission – from this day forward – to be enough. To take enough, to give enough, to pause enough, to move enough, to be enough. This isn’t permission you need from me, but if it helps, you have it. For the rest of time.

I offer this up today because we have to start making more space within ourselves for transformation. We have to start cultivating more compassion, more awe and curiosity, more resilience, and more forgiveness if we are to move forward toward a reimagined future. One that is full of abundance, community, and inter-connection. We cannot do this if we do not trust ourselves to be good enough, strong enough, powerful enough, beautiful enough, {fill in the blank} enough to be with ourselves. If we can’t start having this for ourselves on the yoga mat, we may need to recalibrate and position ourselves in a way that we can start to see the truth of the matter – that we are interconnected and cannot be separated. That if we are able to grin and bear our misery, we have the energy and the power within us to do ANYTHING – and we ought to try to do anything else and step out of our suffering. Strength is not tolerating the unbearable, it’s being willing to say enough to the unbearable and try something new without guarantee that it will be better.

Take what you will from every yoga class, from every meditation, from every group gathering, from every hike, from every meal. Leave what doesn’t work anymore. Know the difference. But always remember you are enough. Step into your enough-ness and from that space, see how your enough-ness reflects the enough-ness of others, and let’s start moving forward toward healing the world. It’s only when you let go of everything that the ego says you are and aren’t that you’re free to do anything.

Step onto the mat with me.

You are beauty.

namaste