To Share or Not to Share

Recently, a yoga friend asked me why I don’t often speak or write about my spiritual experiences.
 
While I do share my inner experiences in yoga in specific contexts, it is also true that I’m selective about how, when, and with whom I speak about them. I am protective of my spiritual experiences because they are so meaningful and precious to me.  
 
In an era where it can feel like we’ve barely finished doing something before we feel the urge to share it, I think there are some important reasons for holding your inner experiences in yoga close.  
 
For one thing, deep spiritual experiences take time to assimilate. You might have noticed that the most significant moments on your inner journey continue to hold lessons and insight for you long after they’ve happened. Many of my most sacred moments still feel very much alive for me, even if they happened decades ago, Letting sacred experiences and inner breakthroughs percolate in the intimate space of your own awareness gives you space to digest them and allow the wisdom they hold to unfold and continue to shape you over time.
 
Secondly, our most sacred moments are, by nature, hard to convey in words. The subtlety of inner experiences requires context, nuance, and the readiness of the other person to receive them in a way that honors their sanctity. Their significance behooves us to be discerning in sharing them.

As meditation teacher Tracee Stanley said, Not everything sacred is meant to be shared.
 
Just as you probably wouldn’t wear your most valuable jewelry when going out for a run, our sacred experiences in yoga aren’t necessarily meant to be broadcast widely. Cherishing them as the precious gems of our spiritual journey allows them to continue to work through us, and to ripen into embodied wisdom that we then share with others just by being who we are.