Our mind can be our greatest ally or our biggest weakness—especially when we ignore our heart and let our mind control us.

In my life, I’ve learned that the path to love is actually found by forging a stronger connection with our heart—who we are—and taming our ego and emotional impulses. Until we’re connected to our heart, beyond trying to get a partner or lust our way to romance, we will continue to act out our subconscious patterns and respond in fear.

The ego sabotages us with negative thoughts and beliefs like “I can’t,” and keeps us trapped in our fears and conditioning. It keeps us trapped behind the walls we’ve developed around our heart. Yet, we all can learn how to break free from this conditioning and foster a loving and secure relationship with ourselves, our true heart, and others.

When I found hot yoga, I was in a chaotic time in my life and was subconsciously craving change. Finding this community, through CorePower Yoga classes, helped me find a sense of home, a place where I felt safe and supported.

Settling into the four corners of my mat and breathing for an hour was better than any happy hour and more rewarding than any other form of exercise I’d ever done. As my mind settled, that inner voice became louder and the movement created new space and self-awareness within me. My mind became more focused, my body felt better, and without knowing it, I began to live in my body and confront the pain that had been lodged within me for years.

But when a yoga teacher said to,”Come back to love,” I literally had no idea what that meant or felt like.

It’s taken me years to understand how to come home to self, feel good within, and fully embody who I am while loving every aspect of who that is. I learned that in order to have great love and healthy relationships, we must feel good within first and develop an authentic individual connection with ourselves—mind, body, and heart. By cultivating self-love—being able to take care of ourselves, nurturing our body, and feeling into the essence of our being—we are able to intuit less from the head and more from our own heart’s intelligence.

No one told me that when we start practicing yoga, we’d be forced to confront ourselves and the many layers of stuff we’ve bottled up. The deeper we go into the practice, the more we witness the positive impact of the mind-body connection, and we’re often unable to go back to our fearful and trapped ways of living. It is the breath that helps us calm down so we can settle into our heart and mind to hear the connection with our soul.

Yoga becomes our liberation. It is the way to tame the mind and open the heart.

So many of us operate with a need to find a partner, have a partner, and make our whole life about chasing and finding love. But the majority of us forget that to attract a relationship—one that can last forever—we must become congruent within ourselves. By overcoming our obstacles and limiting beliefs, and looking at our patterns and shadows, we can become less dependent on finding the one and more willing to transform ourselves into becoming the one.

Love, after all, is reflected to us as we cultivate more love within.

For me, yoga was the safe place that allowed me to connect to all the emotions and limitations my younger self held. I healed so much of my trauma within those walls and overcame the memories and emotional attachments I had to the stories of my past and my childhood. And by doing so, I realized our power is built within us and it’s our job to overcome the wounds and worries that keep us limited from feeling radiant, empowered, and loved. No one can create that kind of home, except ourselves.

To do yoga, we must be willing to adjust our minds, understand ourselves, and become aware of the lens through which we view the world. To actually unyoke and let go of the conditioning and fears requires time, patience, and practice. Our body holds a lot of wisdom when we can settle into it and connect to our sensory system, beyond the thinking mind.

It’s possible to create change and overcome the subconscious stories that trap us. Confronting our mental, emotional, and physical states can help us break through our limitations and whatever is getting in the way of feeling good within. Neutralizing and confronting the ego thoughts, patterns, and triggers that cause us to act out frees us so we can evolve and become more conscious and loving individuals.

Our yoga practice is the path to love and radical self-acceptance.

Our heart’s power is found when we can think less, feel more, and tap into our true joyful nature—and when we can remember who that is. Our individual mission is to come home to love by loving who we are, developing power that comes from the heart, and leading in ways that truly empower and support our growth.

We all have the power to become who we want to be and create the kind of love and relationship we desire. Self-love and self-knowledge allow us to develop that happiness and fulfillment, while also finding the fun in being true to ourselves. And by doing so, we’re better able to trust the love that shows up all around us, instead of seeking love from outside.

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