Architecture of the body, mind and soul | Lara Rubin Alexiou | TEDxScranton

Lara Alexiou tells a personal story about her experiences with the body as a structure of that can either stand strong or crumble. Lara is excited to address the broader perspectives of space and architecture: space within the body and the mind, the architecture of the body and how someone's outer world and what they create on the physical level is a reflection of their inner world.

Lara Rubin Alexiou is owner of Steamtown Yoga in Scranton. She is certified in Bikram Yoga and the Barkan Method Hot Vinyasa levels 2/3. She has over 500 hours of medical qigong certification with Zen Wellness. She is also a certified business mentor with Zen Business Bootcamp. She travels the country and the world with her husband, John, studying yoga, qigong and the Eastern healing arts.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.

I first came to yoga over a decade ago
because I was missing something -

like a word on the tip of my tongue

or the memory of a dream
that I just couldn't quite recall.

I was searching for an answer
without really knowing the question.

And for some reason,

I thought that I would find the answer
to this unknown riddle

by attending yoga classes.

I somehow hoped
that through yoga practice,

I would start to feel better

even though I really couldn't tell you
what it was that felt wrong.

Well, I soon discovered

that the void I was hoping to fill
was that of my own soul.

My inherent desire to reconnect
with this vital part of myself

ultimately fueled my search

and led me into the yoga room
and onto my mat.

Now, I'm sure when you hear
the word "yoga,"

a few things probably come to mind.

Flexibility often comes to mind.

Stress relief often comes to mind.

And if you have a little more exposure,
a little more experience,

something about union -

because yoga is often described
as meaning union -

and maybe something about
a body, mind and spirit connection

may also come to mind.

But what yoga really does
is provide a house for the human soul.

Yoga teaches that your body is a living
and breathing piece of architecture,

designed specifically for you
and no one else

for the one purpose of housing your soul.

And it also teaches

that when the body is a neglected
and crumbling structure,

the soul has no interest
in residing there.

So through the process of yoga,

I learned to rebuild my body
to house my soul.

Yoga teaches that it's through the soul -

that through the body
and the soul connection

that the body really gets
to manifest itself here on earth.

So how do we know
when the soul is at home?

Well, let's look at the breath.

Connecting to the breath draws us
out of our heads and into our bodies.

Through yogic breath control,
we learn to quiet the mind,

to clear our thoughts,

to have quiet emotions

and to be present in the body.

When I'm disconnected from my breath
and my mind and my body,

I lack energy.

I lack inspiration.

My spark is gone.

And with it really goes
my creativity and my personal power.

Instead of happily housing my soul,

I'm much more apt to be housing
resistance, judgment, even complacency.

My imagination gets lost.

When I'm connected
to my body and my breath,

my inspiration shows up.

Think of the last time you were inspired.

I bet you had more energy,

felt physically at your best

and had clear and focused thoughts.

I bet the last time you were inspired,

you didn't see obstacles
or get discouraged.

I bet you had really clear solutions
to manifest your creative ideas.

These are the moments
when our souls are truly at home

and are shining through.

When the architecture
of the body and the mind are weak,

the soul cannot
manifest itself here on earth.

I know this personally

because in 2003, I was diagnosed

with the autoimmune disease
multiple sclerosis.

MS attacks the nervous system.

It has no known cause and no known cure.

At best, it causes nerve pain.

It causes muscle fatigue
and severe muscle weakness.

And at its worst,
it can be completely debilitating,

robbing you of your mobility,

impairing your vision

and even breaking down
basic cognitive functions.

My 25-year-old body
literally began to break down,

and my creative soul
began to pack up and move out.

Pain takes us away from the current moment

and even further away from our souls.

When we're in pain, it's really difficult
to feel the beauty of being alive.

When I was first diagnosed,

walking was very difficult
and very painful.

Stairs were almost impossible,

and I was blind in my right eye.

I had zero energy,
but I maintained my yoga practice.

There were days, many days,
I didn't even go to work,

but I daily attended my yoga practice,

mostly because I really
didn't know what else to do.

I took medication,
but yoga really spoke to my soul.

When I was in practice, my yoga practice,

it gave me tools
to fortify my physical structure,

but it gave my soul a place
to feel secure, to feel safe

and to shine through.

When I was in my yoga practice,

I felt safe and I felt strong
and I felt optimistic.

So if yoga helps us create
this wonderful house for the soul,

why is it that we do associate it
with flexibility and with stress control?

Well, that's because they really speak
to the same thing and go hand in hand.

When the body's flexible,
we have more room for creativity.

You have greater range
of motion, more mobility.

This literally means
that things are now within your reach

that were not possible before.

Pain makes everything contract:

your body contracts,

your mind contracts.

The square footage of your world
literally gets smaller.

The flexibility I learned
through my yoga practice

started to open up my body
into ways I never thought possible

and certainly into postures
I never even knew existed before.

And as my body and my flexibility
started to open up,

my mind started to open up.

I started to see more possibilities,

my pain subsided,

and my soul finally
had some room to breathe.

It finally had some room
to start manifesting itself again.

And as for stress control -

well, when you're in a yoga practice
and you're really focused on a posture -

you're trying to balance on one leg

or maneuver yourself
into these different postures -

you're completely focused
on the moment at hand.

And in those times when you're connected
to your body and your breath,

there is just no room
for any anxious or stressful thoughts.

So today, it's been over 12 years
since I began my yoga practice,

and it's been over 11 years
since my MS diagnosis,

and I remain asymptomatic.

I no longer take medication:

I take yoga instead.

It keeps my body strong,
and it keeps my soul alive.

In yoga, you are the architect
who designs the house for your soul.

Make it strong.

Make it beautiful.

And make it a living
and breathing expression

worthy of your most creative,
innovative and loving self.

Thank you.

(Applause)