REFLECTIONS ON YOGA TO HELP THE ALLEVIATION OF INTERNAL SUFFERING
Last Sunday I attended a reflective Mother’s Day service, and I was also inspired by Renee Blacken, a single young mum, who is rowing across the Atlantic to give back and help those healing from trauma. These experiences prompted me to reflect on those who illuminate the gift of life as a reminder that we each have the responsibility to make the most of our limited time on Earth in a positive way. Along our journeys, we all encounter individuals who support us and help our unique strengths shine brighter. It’s essential for all of us to recognize when our moment comes and to seize the opportunity to make a difference, no matter how small, in making the world a better place. In the course of our life’s journey we will all face challenge and suffering of some kind. It is the Buddhist belief that suffering occurs when we wish things were different … when we become over-attached to our idea of how things, people and life should be and pain arises when we don’t have what we want or we lose what we have…
Detachment
Yoga helps us overcome attachment by fostering a sense of “detachment” and emphasizing the importance of acceptance and awareness to reduce distress. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t make plans, enjoy life, or have goals; rather, we should avoid becoming overly attached to them, since everything in life is temporary. When things don’t go as planned, accepting and surrendering to the flow of life often opens up new and better opportunities. Letting go can bring a sense of freedom, allowing us to reconnect with our true nature—the unchanging self that exists beyond the physical world.
Our Authentic Self
Our innate Self is inherently whole and fully complete and the work that we do in Yoga reminds us of this and who we are and helps us reconnect with our authenticity. We will find that by trying too hard, by doing too much in the name of “trying to achieve” can have an adverse effect on this reconnection – it creates an unhelpful energy within us.
It can help to notice where we are coming from when we practice yoga or follow an ideal or belief. Are we internally driven from the heart or are we being driven externally by a thinking process or the needs of others? In this fast world it is important to know how to slow down, follow our heart, come home to our authentic selves and our true nature; it is then will we notice the difference in outcome. It is then that we will begin to transform and start to heal.
When we sit down with our authentic self, a new energy emerges. We also become aware of when others are not being authentic as they vibrate on a different level. Authenticity creates a distinct energy and once there, we enter a new state of being with a deeper resonance. This awareness, once found, cannot ever be truly lost.
To relieve suffering, it is the yogic belief that we must also overcome ignorance. As we’ve learned in yoga, we are not just our body and mind; we are something much greater—an eternal spiritual being with a stable essence that remains unchanged by external circumstances. Once we recognize this, we can stop identifying with the transient aspects of our existence and liberate ourselves from attachment to impermanent things. Our yoga nidra practice especially helps us connect to the deeper awareness of our intuitive wise self.
What does suffering mean to you? Is it something that defines you? Are you the one creating or supporting it?
We can live in a palace, surrounded by comfort and everything we need, yet still face hardship, challenges, and pain. These adverse experiences are the fabric of life; they help us grow and provide contrast, offering opportunities to deepen our understanding.
While hardships and loss are common to everyone, they do not equate to suffering. Suffering is created within ourselves in response to our experiences. The good news is that if we are the cause of our suffering, we can also be the liberators. It ultimately boils down to our choice.
We can choose to feel separate from life, leading to suffering, or we can engage with life and feel free. Recognizing that challenges and unpleasant experiences are part of life allows us to say, “I don’t need to suffer,” and this brings liberation.
It’s all about how we relate to life. We can see life as happening to us, which places us in the role of victim, or we can view it as happening from us and through us, empowering us to actively shape our experiences. When we surrender to life, we can feel truly alive and live more fully.
A regular yoga practice supports us on this journey and process of exploring a new way of being. With this in mind there is still time to book for the CLASSES with new themes and music starting next week both online and in person and details can be found on this link: https://www.judithdavismindedyoga.co.uk/blossomintospringterm2026/
MEANWHILE ….. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF DAY RETREATS IN 2026 Save the Date!!
💟 Thursday 11th June – Restorative Yoga Practice – candles, Yoga Nidra, chanting .. meditation and poetry
💟 Friday 10th July – Kosha exploration – the five layers that make us unique individuals – when one is out of balance it affects the whole
💟 Friday 4th September – Roots and Wings … grounding, centring, balancing and opening into freedom
Each day will have one of the above different themes and will run from 10am til 6pm and will be made up of:
- Healthy snacks and lunch
- Energising morning flow
- Restorative post lunch yoga session
- Walking meditation
- Beach walk and optional sea swim
- Meditation and poetry
Reply to this email if you are interested in joining. The cost for each will be £90.00 including all practices, snacks and lunch ( £75.00 if booked and paid for by 30th April 2026) These days filled up very quickly last year.
**NEW** two-hour WORKSHOPS – Watch out for the announcement of dates for the following workshops:
💟 Hypermobility – how this affects our body and mind and how it affects our interaction with life. Learn practices to support creation of mental and physical boundaries
💟 Yoga to Reduce Stress- simple yoga and mindfulness techniques to use daily to help calm an anxious mind
💟 Yoga for Insomnia- movement and breathwork, mindfulness and meditations to take into your life to support more nourishing sleep patterns
💟 Deepen your Flow – deepening understanding of how to master the basic postures of yoga and gain the most from them and build strength and flexibility
As always please email judith@judithdavis.co.uk to ask questions or express your interest in any of the above … as always, this comes with love and peaceful blessings …. 🧡