24
july 2017yogajournal.com.auEXPERTS
om
Carrie-Anne Fields
Carrie-Annefounded My Health Yoga in 1998 to
specialise in yoga, counselling and healing. She
has a degree in psychology and is certified in
yoga, acupuncture, kinesiology, reiki and
Ka Huna Bodywork. Carrie-Anne is an accredited
Level 3 Senior Yoga Teacher and represents
Australia as a board member of the World
Movement for Yoga and Ayurveda.Dear Carrie,
If what we think creates our reality, how do we stay mindful of our mental
chatter? PhilPHOTO: JULIA_SUDNITSKAYA/ISTOCKPHOTO.COMThanks for your awesome question Phil!
We humans get consumed with many
problems, all arising from mental desires
and attachments. We take our lives and
ourselves so seriously and seek perfection
rather than accepting and making peace with
life’s trials and tribulations. While we need to
honour our life and ourselves, we can learn
to remain mindful of the controlling mind
and not get caught up in every singular
thought. Negative and pessimistic thoughts
about outcomes in our life, other people and
ourselves can become ‘automatic thoughts’
and can literally take up 10,000 thoughts aday! If what we think creates our reality,
we do need to stay mindful of our mental
chatter. MEDITATE! Become the observer of
the thoughts. Just this ‘light of awareness’
itself has the power to transform your
thinking. By meditating you continue to
bring yourself back to the present moment,
surrendering thoughts and arriving in a place
of bliss (present moment awareness).
Over time, you merge with the one who is
observing (your soul) and you choose your
reality from a place of trust and deservability.
All yoga is an act of meditation when
practiced authentically.A
Dear Carrie,
I’ve been reading some of your advice and love what you have to say, especially
in relation to encouraging family and friends to practice yoga. I’ve been practicing
yoga for 15 years and am keen to share my knowledge with other yogis, but I feel
that the yoga world has become so commercial that students are being robbed of
the true essence of the practice and the authentic teachings are being lost. This
has left me feeling unsure about where I belong in the yoga world. I know that as
teachers and students we need to evolve with the times, and I often have people
telling me just to get out there and teach, but I feel riddled with self-doubt and a
fear of failure in an ever-changing yoga landscape; what if my teachings are too
traditional and not funky enough? Can you suggest a way to move through this
challenging time, perhaps shifting my perspectives in order to heal and move
forward? TanyaHi Tanya, this is such a wonderful
question and a concern many yoga teachers
have. For me, I always come back to, “What
is my intention for teaching yoga?” When
you can simplify and clarify this intention
inwardly, it will assist you to move out into
the yoga marketplace with confidence
that you are being true to yourself. Your
authenticity with your teachings is what is
required to be a phenomenal yoga teacher,
not your adherence to either past or present
methods of teaching. Traditional yoga is
perfect! Modern yoga is perfect! The
universe has a divine plan and cannot make
any mistakes so trust in the process of this
evolving yoga tradition and find your uniqueplace within it. My intention for teaching
yoga is for my students to find love, peace
and joy within and my methods for
teaching are kindness, non-judgment and
unconditional love. The modality of yoga is
just one way to impart my highest intention
and is not reliant on advanced poses, but
rather my ability to honour my intention is
to continue to work on purifying my heart.
I love your final thought about “shifting
perspectives in order to heal and move
forward” which means you have already
found the answer! Trust yourself and know
you are needed to pass on the magic that
is yoga. Much love and support coming
your way.A
Got a question for Carrie?
Send them to [email protected]Our yoga expert Carrie-Anne Fields answers
your philosophical questions.
Dear Carrie