Yoga From the Inside Out: Response 1

The practice is a journey through which we confront our fears and our conditioning, and receive the opportunity to glimpse the greatness of our true nature (Sell xviii)

Yoga is the cessation of movements. Then the seer abides in his own true splendor. (Sutras 1.2-1.3)

I think some people’s true splendor must look like curves on their body that embrace every inch of you in their hug or it must look like sturdiness in thick thighs. I also think some people’s true splendor is manifested in lean bodies who are agile and move lightly. 

I found my true splendor in college, sophomore year, when I decided to stop chemically relaxing my hair. I have always had vibrantly curly hair but when I entered middle school, it turned from soft, delicate curls to dreaded fullness that was no longer cute but intimidating and painfully noticeable. I began going to salons every six months to have my hair chemically reformed to transform my hair from ‘curly’ to ‘wavy’. Because ‘wavy’ is cute. Curly is scary. I maneuvered through middle school and high school with a full head of ‘wavy’ hair, often straightening it to blend in with high school hallway crowds even more.

But the thing is, even when my hair was ‘wavy’, it was still dynamically noticeable. The thick fullness of my hair still seeped out awkwardly through the limp waves. 

On the contrary, [my teacher] is suggesting a natural relationship to the body and to food--a relationship in resonance with the Divine. In such a natural mood the addictions and tensions around food and body image can begin to relax (Sell 28)

The natural relationship to my body and to my hair was through the full embrace of its curliness. It’s hard to explain to people whose hair never owned them how liberated I felt when I went home on Christmas break and for the first time I did not schedule an appointment at the hair salon. Even more so, when after a year, I had completely grown out every inch of processed hair. I was truly abiding in my own splendor. 

What I celebrate most about my body is that it is a temple for my soul. It is this beautiful house that I tend to, but try not to possess or be too attached to. I love that it stores and releases the most amazing currents of energy. I like how joyous it becomes (Sell 31)

After embracing the natural swirl of my hair, I am also learning detachment from its unpredictable ways. It changes with the weather and in Texas, that means it looks different every hour. I cannot be too concerned with controlling it anymore. I embrace its fullness and let its vibrancy also lift my mood.

I wish people would think about their bodies the way I have learned to think about my hair. Feel the joy in every extra bounce of a round booty, or the strength of sculpted calves as you walk up all six floors of Collins. As Dr. Schultz likes to say, God gave you that pose. And God gave you your bodies. And my crazy, unexplainable hair.