The art of yoga for achieving balance with Pamela Meriwether
Balance is key, and yoga is an amazing away to find and work toward that through cultivating a mind, body, and soul connection.
Pamela Meriwether is devoted to yogic learning and teaching. Certified by the Yoga Alliance as an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher at the 500-hour level, she has been teaching yoga for more than 20 years.
She continues her learning as a dedicated student of Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD, Spiritual Head of the Himalayan Institute. Pamela is a certified Vishoka Meditation Teacher, a ParaYoga Teacher, a Four Desires Trainer, an Ayurvedic Yoga Specialist, and a certified yoga teacher for cancer patients through Y4C.
In 1999, during her first pregnancy, Pamela began her yoga practice and her passion for yoga and meditation grew from there. She continues her commitment to her daily practice.
"I always weave some aspect of the ancient wisdom of historical yoga teachings into every yoga class and I find true joy in assisting others on their own unique paths."
Her approach to teaching this wide-ranging subject is always individual, focusing on inspiring in her students the calm, strength, balance, wellness, and personal growth that this practice can provide.
She brings to her practice and teaching a background in meditation, ballet, fitness, and physiology, including choreographing, and leading five nationally released fitness videos for The FIRM.
Pamela views her entire life as her practice — in her case, a practice of being not only a yoga teacher, but also a yoga student, busy wife, mother, stepmother, and community volunteer. Below she tells us how to use yoga to achieve connection.
Q. How is yoga used to connect to the mind, body, and soul?
A. We often hear yoga teachers describing yoga as a means to connect the mind, body and soul, and this is true. However, The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali teaches us that there is an essential step that precedes this connection. We must first learn to disentangle ourselves from everything we perceive to identify ourselves with all of our illusions.
It is actually through this decoupling with the false ideas of who and what we are, that we can then begin to truly connect to the truth within. Yoga postures (asanas) can help us to untangle past impressions and experiences that make us feel stuck or overly identified with our bodies. Breathing techniques (pranayama) can help us calm the "monkey mind" and learn to be present.
Ultimately, when we begin to experience these shifts, we experience a new sense of oneness with the mind, body, and soul. We feel more content. We are happier, and our lives begin to reflect those qualities. Our relationships with others and the world around us become more positive.
Q. What are signs of overall disconnection?
A. We’ve all felt disconnected before, sometimes more obviously than at other times, but I think it is important not to take such feelings as evidence of inadequacy. In truth, being able to sense a disconnection is actually a sign of greater self-awareness. So, if we recognize it, we are at least on the right track toward minimizing it.
Some of the signs of disconnection might include forgetfulness, fear, anxiety, self-doubt, depression, or anger. These symptoms are fairly prevalent in our modern world (to put it mildly), which means we could all benefit from practices that increase our sense of connectedness.
Q. What are some ways people can start practicing yoga?
A. The first thing to do if you want to start practicing yoga is to acknowledge that there are so many ways to practice yoga — well beyond the poses we do on our mats. My suggestion is to start with an aspect of yoga that interests you. It might be reading a book, like Autobiography of a Yogi or The Heart of Yoga — two of my favorites. It might mean finding a yoga class that truly "meets you where you are" in terms of physical expectations. There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all yoga class.
Start to learn and practice the yogic ethical guidelines (yamas and niyamas) as spelled out in the Yoga Sutra. Perhaps the most accessible and impactful way, though, is to simply start to change the way you breathe. Diaphragmatic breathing through the nose has a significantly positive effect on the Autonomic Nervous System, relaxing you, as well as regulating heart rate, blood pressure, and other systems of the body.
Q. Do you have any advice for those who would love to start a practice, but feel intimidated?
A. Everyone has to start somewhere and it’s common to feel intimidated. Try to remember that you are not alone and most of the time when you take a step out of your comfort zone, you are moving beyond what limits us most, namely our thoughts.
Interested in taking your yoga experience to the next level? Pamela's Sakhi Yoga School is hosting a 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training program in September 2023 and a 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training program in January 2024.
To see where Pamela is teaching around Columbia, SC follow her on Instagram.