I have always been interested in yoga. Something about the serene down dog made me think of peaceful thoughts. However, it wasn’t until I moved to Arkansas about a year ago that I realized it’s true benefit.
Moving to Arkansas was incredibly taxing to on me. I uprooted my Chicago self for a country setting and something about this place made me incredibly tense. I think I have always suffered from anxiety but coming here really heightened it all. Luckily, a close friend of mine introduced me to an amazing yoga studio called Yoga Story. I have always believed that everything happens for a reason and I truly believe that the day I walked into Yoga Story my life changed. I immediately fell in love with yoga. My body craved it. For a good six months, I did yoga daily and really saw a change in my body, mind, and spirit. Around Christmas time I headed back to Chicago and took a break from yoga. When I came back to Arkansas, things just weren’t the same. I was not quite as balanced and my judgment was all in whack. For a few months, I feel into a deep depression and my kind hearted yoga teacher, Cindee Joslin, could tell that something was wrong but I wasn’t responding. I continued goind down my self-inflected downward, depressive spiral pushing away everything and everyone that I cared about. Luckily, through the grace of God and good friends and family, I was able to pull myself out of my self destruction and once again found yoga as my balance. When my yoga teacher and I reconnected, she told me how she always kept me in her thoughts and put me in her prayers. This meant the world to me.
The sad thing is that there wasn’t anything wrong with me except that I forgot to think about anyone but myself. My negative self thoughts were driving me insane. I didn’t like myself and definitely did not like anyone else. However, my yoga teacher made me realize just how important it is to step outside of your head and find compassion for others. For me yoga isn’t just about yourself, it’s about realizing that we live in a society where we have to care about each other and help each other because we are stronger together than alone. We need each other and we have to be good to ourselves so that we can be good to others. Being good and authentic is what brings meaning and color to our life.
My dream is to teach yoga in third world countries where the crime rate is spiraling out of control. I know firsthand what it is like to have incredibly horrible thoughts and intentions for no apparent reason. All it takes is a kind hand, some kind words and an abundance of compassion to negate the thoughts that create all the harm in this world. After all, we are our thoughts.
I truly believe yoga as the ability to bring the best out in each and every human. I would be honored to be a certified yoga teacher through Amazing Yoga. I hope you can help me make my dream come true and in turn make our world a better place.
About me:
I am a 27 year old Analyst at a corporation. I have struggled with figuring out why I was put on this earth. Yoga is my passion. I love meeting new people and helping them with their life journey. Please help me bring yoga into the lives of people that need it the most. Please help me make my dream come true!
2012 Yoga Scholarship Essay
By: Somya Munjal
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