By Margeaux Candlin DNP IHH, RN, RYT
I attended a yoga workshop at Revolution Power Yoga to set my intentions for 2024. When I arrived at the workshop, I reflected upon 2023.
As a collective, we have experienced war breaking out in the Middle East, with terrible tragedies occurring and the continued war in Ukraine. Additionally, global warming continues to worsen, leading to natural disasters worldwide. We all felt 2023 had been challenging. As we look forward to the experiences of 2024, we will continue to make new friends, navigate relationships, and manage careers.
The exit of 2023 and the immersion into 2024 feels similar to the significance of the lotus flower. The lotus flower is a symbol of rebirth. The flower emerges out of the mud in the morning, appears unscathed by the dirt from its wax-like barrier, grows into something beautiful, and then returns to the mud every night.
I set my intention for the year ahead to achieve greater ease and freedom. Even though I will inevitably move through cycles in the mud, I will emerge through the muck and keep growing.
A few days after the workshop, I traveled to see family. My aunt and uncle brought my parents and me to the Mexicana restaurant in Wilton Manors, Ft. Lauderdale. There, we found a set of murals, one of which was a portrait of Frida Kahlo.
In 1925, when Frida was 18 years old, she "was on a bus that crashed into a trolley. As a result, Frida had a broken spinal column, collar bone, ribs, and pelvis, eleven fractures in her leg, and an iron handrail punctured her abdomen and uterus (Maranzani,2020)". Initially, she was bedridden; meanwhile, she painted self-portraits from a mirror on the canopy above her bed (Svoboda, E., 2023).
Her artwork reflected her feelings of solitude, her spirituality, and her passion for medicine and the human body. She shared her personal life experiences vividly with images of her husband's infidelity and even her miscarriage.
Her pain and overall health difficulties proverbially dragged her through the mud. Frida's artwork provided her an opportunity to practice Svadhyaya, self-study. Svadhyaya is one of the niyamas of yoga. "The Niyamas are the second limb of the 'Eight Limbs of Yoga' from the ancient Indian sage Patanjali's Yoga Sutras" (Newlyn, 2024).
"The Niyamas refers to duties directed towards ourselves - inner observances." (2024). "Svadhyaya refers to any activity wherein we quietly study ourselves and reflect upon our actions, thoughts, emotions, motivations, aspirations, desires, and needs to pursue a more profound experience of our lives and ourselves (Malossi, 2015)."
Yogis recognize that every time they get on their mat, it is an opportunity for them to practice svadhyaya, to observe their inner world. Frida Kahlo did this through her paintings and her powerful images. Frida displays what she is feeling, needs, and how she is, which produces beautiful and influential artwork that is highly revered today.
References:
Malossi, C. (2015, Oct.). The Fourth Niyama: Svadhyaya - Self-Study - YogaUOnline. https://yogauonline.com/yoga-practice-teaching-tips/yoga-for-beginners/the-fourth-niyama-svadhyaya-self-study/
Maranzani, B. (2020, June). How a Horrific Bus Accident Changed Frida Kahlo’s Life
The crash left the painter with life-long pain and injuries that would fuel the vibrant, intensely personal artwork that would make her famous.https://www.biography.com/artists/frida- kahlo-bus-accident.
Newlyn, E. (2024 )An introduction to the 5 Niyamas - Ekhart Yoga. https://www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/practice/an-introduction-to-the-5-niyamas
Svoboda, E. (2023)How a Devastating Accident Changed Frida Kahlo’s Life and Inspired Her Art. After a trolley car collided with a bus carrying the 18-year-old Mexican artist, pain and resilience emerged as perennial themes in her work.https://www.history.com/news/frida-kahlo-bus-accident-art
*Revolution Power Yoga is located in Avon, Colorado.
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