Life leaves us between what we have to do and what we want to do. And the decision always squeezes us between two things; will we run or will we stop? Running is presented as a good choice, stopping as a kind of inertia. However, it is also coexsiting in the nature itself, to flow and to stand. We need a stop from time to time to run. I studied economics and I became a banker. This was the way life presented (and in fact the one I preferred) to me. Morning traffic, noon rush, evening traffic; in short, I have started to keep pace with this plan in the run-down and complexity of the endless city life; without knowing what it means to provide physical and mental balance on my chosen path yet.
It’s called occupational disease, known to those who works without giving a beeak; first, vertebrae aches start because of sitting to much. Then, long working hours without changing positions in front of a computer will show themselves as a pain in the neck after a while. When you add the stress that’s brought by city life to them, these can cause both physical and mental trauma.
I met Yin Yoga while I was looking for something that could be a remedy for this physical and mental congestion that I noticed in my own way. Sometimes, I experienced how only stopping can help to open new places in the soul and body. The initial relaxation I felt only at the physical dimension, began to reduce the level of stress in my life over time. And I decided to study yoga. In fact, taking the training was a result of the desire to deepen my personal practice. During this time, the lessons I learned were different. The well-known phrase ‘There is some good in every evil and some evil in every good’ has became a lesson that I have to solve in every part of my life now. The life I lived in Istanbul was beautiful from one side, it was compulsive from the other side. I was one of the people who did not give up drinking tea in the Bosphorus and was angry at this city in the end. Yoga has moved my life towards ‘balance seeking’, pushed me to share. I loved the way Yin Yoga invited me to calm down, to pause for a moment, to understand the pleasure of the moment, and to help me relax both physically and emotionally. And I decided to share what I learned and what I experienced; what’s good to me is always good for someone in some place. The journey that I started for myself is no longer understood by those walking alongside me. I started giving yoga lessons with the thought that ‘I can not touch everybody but I can share this journey with those who want to.’
As we continue to do what we have to do, we should stop and learn to breathe, to let ourselves flow (which is never inertia). Run, but try to stop occasionally; eventually you will understand the miracle of breathing when you stop.
Best wishes.
Özge Akalın
Who is Özge Akalın?
I was born in Erzurum in 1983. I finished Marmara University’s Faculty of Economics. I have been working in the banking sector for about 8 years. I grew up in a family that loves sports and art, and who reads and encourages a lot. I’m curious about books. The books pushed me to write; I have been writing since childhood. My interests are psychology and sociology. I’m a yoga instructor. I teach Yin and Hatha Yoga lessons.