Are you moved by poetry?

Maybe song lyrics? A beautiful hand-written card? A favorite book?

I’m fascinated by the power of the word and how certain prose, sutras, poems, and lyrics strike me from the depths even moving me to tears at times. 

Does that ever happen to you?

In the yoga tradition, there is a word called matrika. It’s a sanskrit word that represents the urge or longing of emotion and feelings to take the form of syllables and then words. These words and the power behind create our reality. Think about the stories we tell ourselves, the way we talk to ourselves, our partners, our children, they hold POWER. Without getting into the history of language or mindset, this power is one of the reasons why I love language. It’s why you’ll hear me use words or bust out the dictionary to break down the meaning of a word. 

From a young age, I’ve been a seeker of inspiration and deeply moved by words in all forms. From poetry to song lyrics to sacred text like the Yoga Sutras, the Bible, Tao de Ching, etc.

Recently my college roommate and friend for over 20 years sent me a message that her 8 year old typed up the “Rules for Being Human” for a school project. I wrote this out for her as a gift in college and had completely forgotten. I didn’t make this up and I was never accurately able to track down the author, but after some searching online it’s likely to be Dr. Chérie Carter-Scott who brought forth this list in the powerful word form. 

Over twenty years and there is still great power in these words for me. A new meaning of course, due to decades of falling down and getting back up, adventures and journeys within and without. Words and life are like that I think. I always say yoga is like opening up your favorite book or rereading your favorite poem and getting something new out of it. Seeing it from a different perspective. I suppose we could call it the “beginners mind”. Because when we sit with ourselves or roll out our mat for yet another downward facing dog, the truth is we are different. This life is dynamic, ever-changing and so are we. 

The next time you read your favorite poem or listen to your favorite song, feel into the matrika. The deep, striking pulse of energy that moves through you.

Enjoy.

Rules  for  Being  Human

You will receive a body.
You may like or hate it, but it will be yours this time around.

You will learn lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called LIFE. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant, but they serve a purpose.

There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of experimentation. The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately “works.”

A lesson is repeated until learned.
A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

Learning does not end.
There is no part of life that does not contain lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

“There” is no better than “here”.
When your “there” has become a “here”, you will simply obtain another “there” that will again look better than “here”.

Others are merely mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.

What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.

Your answers lie inside you.
The answers to life’s questions lie inside of you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.

You will forget all of this.
You can remember it whenever you want.

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Rachel Peters is a yoga teacher, yoga health coach, lifestyle and habits expert, easeful living advocate, and lover of wild places. She leads others towards Embodying Ease through a yearlong wellness & lifestyle journey to dissolve perfectionism, embody daily habits that promote mental clarity, overall ease, and deeper connection to life on this wild ride of modern living. Learn MORE today!