Teaching Tales: A Yoga Therapy Class "The Weight of Perception"

Teaching Tales: A Yoga Therapy Class "The Weight of Perception"

There once was a man who carried an invisible mountain. For years he had walked with stooped shoulders, each step requiring tremendous effort. "My legs feel weak," he would say. "I fear I will fall."

One morning, he visited a teacher who asked not what was wrong, but rather, "Where do you feel this fear?"

The man closed his eyes. "Here," he pointed to his chest.

"Stay with it," the teacher said. "Now, invite love into that same space."

The man's breathing shifted. His face softened.

"What's happening?" asked the teacher.

"The fear... it's dissolving."

Teaching Tales: A Yoga Therapy Class "The Weight of Perception"

The teacher nodded and continued, "Our nervous system speaks two languages: collapse and awakening. When we dwell in stories of weakness, our bodies respond accordingly. But when we pause to recognize these stories as just that—stories—something remarkable happens."

Throughout their session, the teacher guided him to notice how his body responded to different states of consciousness. With each shift in awareness, the man's posture straightened, his breathing deepened.

Near the end, the man stood and laughed. "I feel like I'm on a planet with less gravity," he said, moving with newfound lightness.

The teacher smiled. "The mountain didn't disappear. You simply recognized it wasn't yours to carry."

Teaching Tales: A Yoga Therapy Class "The Weight of Perception"

A week later, measurements revealed the man's physiological markers resembled someone eight years younger. His heart recovered quickly from exertion, his posture had transformed, and the fear that once dominated his thinking had given way to curiosity.

Sometimes, our heaviest burdens exist only in our perception, and in recognizing this, we find ourselves suddenly lighter. Teaching Tales: A Yoga Therapy Class "The Weight of Perception"