Love is such a grand word. A multi-facetted emotionally charged word. For me, it is an invitation for discovery of the depths of feeling. But exploring these depths isn’t reserved for grand gestures and world changing actions; it is a matter of each of us asking simply:

How can I be a better person?

How can I practice love today?

By making just a tiny bit more effort to reach out…to send a text message to a friend; send a postcard; leave a note in your partner’s lunch saying ‘hello I love you’. To reach out and connect.

Love and loving is a choice, not something that is bestowed magically upon us. Choose to be open. Choose not to shut down (and sometimes it feels so irresistibly easy to shut down). Choose to not hold grudges; choose to release anger.

There are times, of course, when it’s hard to crack open that shell, to peel back the bomber-jacket of a sulk; the hooded cloak of a dark mood.

This is the practice. To find that we have a choice in how we feel.

An almost physical cracking of that protective shell (I imagine it around the solar plexus…) leaving me unguarded. In vulnerability we also find space for  possibility – of joy, of reconciliation, of growth.

How can we open in small ways, every day?

As an example, politeness. There is no rush too stressful, no black mood so dark enough to ever warrant impoliteness! And while we’re at it, recycle! Don’t litter! Pick up litter! Show love to our environment, think wider than yourself.

To find that half-ounce of extra love and show it. To choose to open instead of closing down. To forgive instead of building an iron fence around our hearts. This is the most important message. To choose to grow. To offer a hug; to take his hand; to give your loose change. That half-ounce will come back in spades and bucket loads. And in it comes, in more energy, purpose and worth.

This is not to say to give yourself so freely that you are left depleted. Respect your boundaries and listen to your instincts. Protect your heart from those who are reckless.

Practice compassion.

Everyone has their stuff, things we can’t ever know. Each of us deserves kindness. Be kind to yourself.

When it comes down to it, we’re all looking for the same thing: to be loved and to love in return.

When we approach everyone we meet (and meet ourselves) with this understanding, the heart jumps out, the universe expands and love pours in.

Practice love. It is a muscle which needs to be used and exercised to grow strong. Don’t wait for a special occasion.

And this is where yoga comes in (because of course, it does): Every time we come to the mat is an opportunity to learn something new and listen to our hearts without judgement or censor.

As we practice, our bodies become strong and focussed; learning to listen to the whispers of our desires, the calls of our fears, our needs, our limitations. In listening we learn to understand. In understanding, we offer compassion. Our bodies strong enough, our minds flexible enough, to withhold emotion and endure change.

Kindness has become a bland word in our world of hyperbole, but it is kindness offered inside and without which will lead us to love, time and time again.

Find small ways to practice love, they are all around us. Begin now. xx