Today a dear friend and manger of a beautiful yoga studio in East London described my classes as a ‘wholesome practice, led with self-full feminine energy’.

I loved it!

Discovering and accepting the feminine within me has definitely been a journey; I always struggled identifying how to express my femininity, how to unleash that wildly fluid, raw and expressive Shakti nature in its full power.

I could only seem able to embrace my Shakti energy when performing on stage, getting lost in the dance, letting the emotion take over me, being nothing but present.

But in my everyday life the masculine Shiva energy would usually prevail, it gets the job done, it is practical and analytical, steady and conscious.

I wonder why some of us women feel so trapped in this masculine energy that we constrain ourself playing the role of the women we were told to be rather than unapologetically feeling like the women we truly are.

I can easily relate this dilemma of energy imbalance to my yoga practice. I started my journey as a committed ashtanga practitioner, looking for grounding, strength and steadiness, gradually transitioning to a more fluid vinyasa flow practice that allowed me more freedom and creativity, to an even more drastic slowing down into the softness of yin, tapping into the inner self, finding the joy and the challenge of stillness, enquiry and acceptance.

Our lives are in continuous transition, we move through phases of our existence carrying baggages of experiences on our shoulders. These shape us into the people we evolve into, but the journey doesn’t end, as long as we keep listening, moving with it, letting go of what is holding us back from accepting this constant fluctuation of needs, priorities and desires.

I eventually found the courage to feel vulnerable again, to let my softness find the solutions I couldn’t find by battling hard to regain a sense of control over situations I had lost sight of.

I allowed my intuition to guide me rather than the expectations I, and others around me, had put upon myself; I had to grieve who I always thought I was and accept that change is inevitable as well as exciting, and scary.

I am not neglecting nor ignoring the masculine energy I have for so long put forward, but I am discovering a new balance within myself and my life, through full presence, intuition, love, compassion and and creativity.

Like yin and yang, Shiva (masculine) and Shakti (feminine) represent the duality behind all energies in the universe, one can’t exist without the other, and we all have this polarity within us.

It is only when the masculine and feminine are in balance that we can live a life full of creative empowerment and harmony.

Only when Shiva and Shakti come together then action, movement and creation arise.

Shiva holds space for Shakti to move through.

Shiva gives direction to Shakti’s shape-shifting energetic flow.

So, my wish on International Women Day, is for us all, men and women, to find our way back to Shakti and to what her energy can bring to our lives, actions and beliefs.

Today I want to remember all the women who have displayed Shakti strength, energy and love, who have made a great influence in my life and showed me the way when I needed guidance and direction, from my mother and grandmothers, my incredible teachers past and present, to my friends and loved ones.

Who are you thankful for today?

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International Women's day - a journey towards shakti