We’ve heard the mantra time and again: you have to fill your cup before it can spill into others’ cups. Though the message has circulated social media for a long while now, I’ve found that it’s actually easy to forget if we’re not intentional about it. I viscerally believe loving God > Others > Self to be the center of a purpose-driven life. And self-love is a crucial part of this system.

Fill Your Cup

Yoga is one small but tangible way I’ve been “filling my cup” for the past 10+ years. I’ve strayed at times, weaving in and out of the practice, but I’ve always found myself back on the mat eventually. It helped me stretch out my growing muscles as a pubescent soccer player, it centered me during the haze of college midterms and finals. And now, I see it as so much more than that.

I’m prone to anxiety. If I’m not intentional with my thoughts, I can find myself getting caught up in the temporal and fixated on circumstances I can’t change. Yoga commands my attention by establishing a beautiful synergy between the mind and body. Here’s how it works: connecting the mind-body allows us to peel back the layers of distractions and silence the noise that comprise our contemporary society (materials, status, egotism, vanity, resentment, etc.). Peace, clarity of thought, and internal strength are welcomed in this space. And of course yoga aids our outward appearance—it’s a physical exercise after all—but that pales in comparison to what it promotes mentally.

Why We Shouldn’t Objectify 

I experienced a conviction during a recent yoga class I attended, which focuses on every person I see and will ever see. I looked around the room before class started, my eyes scanning the different characters sitting crossed-legged on their mats, stretching, and getting into their “zone.” I was noting the varying levels of athleticism. I caught myself, and at that moment I decided to rewire my eyes’ thought and see these individuals for what each was: a soul.

It’s important to recognize when we’re objectifying others, including objectifying ourselves. Bodies are certainly important, and how we care for them deeply affects quality of life. But a body’s true value is rooted in its role as vessel carrying the actual God-gifted treasure that is the soul.

Bringing It Together

Viewing people as souls, rather than judging their external person, enables us to love, respect, and empathize without any conditions. It also allows us to love ourselves unconditionally.

Some souls carry pain, resentments, fears, sadness, etc. So when we hold this perspective in our interactions with others, noting that each human holds a conglomerate of experiences unseen, how can we not love them, especially when they act adversely toward us? How can we take anything personally? We simply cannot.

When you discard the objectification of human beings, you enable altruistic love. And isn’t that what this whole gift of life is all about? I believe it is.

peace & love,

smb