Often referred to as the spiritual heart of Australia, Kate Kendall took a group of yogis to Uluru last week and left with five life shifting lessons.
5 Lessons I Took Away from the Heart of Australia
Listening pulls truth
There’s an incredible silence around the rock that I’ve never experienced before. You can’t help but lean in and listen to nature – after all – you are in the desert. If you listen long enough your inner chatter lulls and you’re left with nothing but the moment – and the moment is truth. What else is there really?
Being rock solid is magnetic
The rock – sitting there for centuries in all of its magnitude has continued to be a remarkable feature of the Australian landscape. Just like us humans, being rock solid and steady in ourselves is hugely powerful. Ever noticed the times you’ve tried to be someone else or something ‘more’? It’s draining and dire and gives you nothing but remorse. Being all of yourself, however, no matter how you look to others, is magnetic and it only gives others permission and the inspiration to do the same.
Nature gives generously
Over 250,000 people from all over the world visit Uluru a year. And each morning and evening hundreds of people flock to the rock to watch the sun rise and set. Whilst the crowds lull to watch this magnificent and always giving spectacle, I’m reminded of this awesome Hafiz quote:
Even after all this time, the sun never says to the Earth, “You owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that, it lights up the whole sky.
Wisdom is in stillness
On one of our hikes we visited The Olgas. If Uluru is the feminine energy or the national park, The Olgas are the masculine. And the view from the remarkable ‘Valley of the Winds’ climb was jaw dropping. Two giant rock formations create a valley below. Staring down on the valley from these giant rocks I thought about how crazy it is that in our busy and exciting lives we rush from one thing to the next, sometimes barely noticing the people around us, as these rocks sit still. Imagine what they have observed in all of their time. The original owners of this land, the Anangu people and their hunting and gathering, fires, rituals, millions of tourists, animals and crazy electrical storms. I don’t suggest we sit still for hundreds of years – but perhaps for long enough to get grounded each and every day and take in what’s around us. There’s beauty in every moment.
We’re all one
The night sky is insane up here and we were lucky enough to watch the full moon shine in all of its intensity on Saturday evening – our last night of the retreat. With a heart fully open, having been immersed in nature for a good five days, it was a sweet reminder that we’re all in this together, under the same sky and actually made up of the same stuff as stars. This understanding is the very essence of yoga. So be good to yourself and be good to one another. Just sayin’.
Enjoy all your moments,
KK
