Open Hearts and Open Minds

My yoga teacher tells us to check our egos at the door. “Don’t compare yourself to others in the class, and don’t force yourself into something that’s not good for your body,” she insists. “Lift your chest and open your heart,” she advises during Eagle Pose. And so I do as she tells. Drop my ego and open my heart – what sound advice! And though it seems it should be common sense, we need those reminders.

I often find that I compare myself to others, which seems odd to me since I am quite happy with who I am. In comparing, I find that I close my head and my heart off to people as a result of my own judgement. That is the antithesis of what my sage of a yoga teacher preaches. In checking my ego at the door, I should not be passing judgement on myself or others. In opening my heart, I should be making room for the warmth of those around me, and most importantly, the love that I have to give myself. As we all know, it’s imperative to love ourselves before we can fully love others.

So in this instance, it’s like the chicken or the egg: which comes first – an open heart or an open mind? Whichever comes first, the other is sure to follow, and both will lead us down the road to an open soul.