The beauty of Sanskrit is each word has many translations. Lila means many things, but to us, it means play. For years we named our site lilavati ‘play light’ as a reminder to remain playful and focus on light, rather than darkness. We know the value of manifestation, and remember holding onto hope.
There comes a point in a yoga practice when you realise you can’t escape what’s inside. The meditative, medicinal movement reveals the places we hold on, hold back, and hide. The facades we wear melt when exploring our edges.
Keira had a Californian meditation teacher, wild and renowned amongst yogis. He once told her she needed to embrace lilavati, and begin to see the light in self, rather than darkness. His whole philosophy struck a chord with us. Long after Lorin mentioned it, both she and I embraced playfulness. When life gave us lemons, we made lemonade.
Play is delight. Watch nature, dogs, birds and wild animals, and you’ll begin to witness play everywhere.
It remains curious. Leaning into softness when things become too much, breathing into edges, seeing if boundaries can shift. Finding centre in the soft, awakening places that feel quiet or numb.
Play involves becoming lost in imagination, remaining open to falling, failing, getting it wrong and seeming a fool. Believing in the make-believe and listening to instinct, above intelligence.
Falling hard, becoming really hurt, losing what we adore, getting lost; all provide opportunity for feeling, for growth, for the raw edge of being here, now.
Play doesn’t desire comfortable, or quiet. It wants realness, depth and the visceral sense of feeling, emotion and the rush of being in the moment. The art of play involves picking ourselves up, brushing off, moving on, learning what works and how it lands for us.
There is no plan, or comfortable sequence, some ending to achieve. Here is a flow-state of being, of breath.
We’re so completely in-body (embodied), in moment (present), adjusting and recalibrating to the shifting situation. Heart and body lead the way.
Expectations fall aside, so all facets of life become sweet. Not in a saccharine sense. But in an authentic, deep, honey-laced sweetness. Even the edges that cut us.
Ultimately play allows us to look fools, for the foolish are the wise ones.
And the wise are the foolish.
For us, lila means inviting anything and everything in. For life is short. And our highs don’t have to be picture-perfect versions, appearing shiny on the surface.
We’d rather learn our own language, see what works for us.
Life should be played light.
Like writing music.
The best songs come from heart, from allowing emotion to pour to paper, an instrument to sing its song.
If we live life uniform, seeking comfort, looking for the right, easy option, we crave artificial highs to get through. And those highs are never sustainable or satisfying.
If we steer away from feeling, we’ll eventually lean upon structures that won’t hold us up.
But learn to take it all with an element of play, and we create new boundaries, new tricks, and feel every facet as deeply, and presently as possible.
Lila, play.
Somehow encourages light.
