Yoga

Breaking down walls.

“The only walls that exist are those you have placed in your mind. And whatever obstacles you conceive, exist only because you have forgotten what you have already achieved.” — Suzy Kassem

Think back to when you were a child. Running in the grass, laughing with friends, making up games and stories and songs. As children, we are all free, we love freely, and we live with an open heart.

But then, we grow up.

And as the years go by, we begin building. One by one, stacking bricks, piling up rocks, until before we know it, there’s a wall that we cannot see over. Inside the wall, we create an identity of the person who we think we are supposed to be, and that wild child we once knew is out in the sunshine, over the wall, along with other things that we’ve decided to leave out of our story because they don’t fit with who we are “supposed” to be. The more we hide behind the perceived safety of our wall, the higher it gets, until we forget. We forget what’s on the outside. We forget who we really are.

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As far as I can tell, this is something that most humans do. Sometimes, we aren’t even aware that we’ve been building the wall, until one day, we suddenly wake up to the idea that the wall exists. Maybe it’s something someone says, or a song lyric that finally clicks, or a moment when you wonder about all the things that don’t seem to exist anymore in your memories.

“You are not finding your voice, you are remembering.” — Victoria Erickson

Walls are there to protect us when we don’t know any other way. That’s why we build them. Think of walls around medieval castles. Maybe it’s time to see what happens when we make those walls obsolete. As we grow older, we learn the defenses to protect ourselves in more advanced ways. If we can break down the walls inside us, we can open ourselves up to true authenticity. We can bring ourselves back into the light and see who we really are and how our experiences — all of them — have shaped who we have become.

This act of self-observation without judgment is said to be the highest spiritual practice according to Swami Kripalu.

It takes courage and bravery to knock down the walls we build inside ourselves and live from a place of Truth. As we open the heart and see what’s there, tearing down the walls can release strong feelings and emotions. But the ability to witness the experience without the need to fix or control anything, just to watch… That is profound. That is what ultimately ushers in a season of healing.

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Feel free to enjoy the accompanying Spotify playlist below:

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