Living in Alignment: Returning to What Is True for You 17/11/25
In yoga, we talk a lot about alignment, you know stacking the joints, softening the shoulders, grounding the feet, finding stability and ease in each shape. But the longer I teach, the more I realise that alignment is not just a physical concept. It’s a way of living.
True alignment is the quiet, steady act of choosing what feels right for you, your values, your energy, your pace, your version of success. It’s living honestly, even when the world around you pulls you in every direction. It’s recognising when you’re acting from your heart… and when you’re acting from habit, comparison or expectation.
We live in a culture that loves telling us who to be. What success should look like. How quickly we should move. What a “good life” should contain. Before we know it, we can find ourselves chasing goals that don’t belong to us, measuring our worth by someone else’s story, or bending ourselves into shapes that simply don’t fit.
Just like on the mat, misalignment in life often starts subtly, like a small “yes” when we meant “no,” taking on something out of obligation, or trying to keep pace with someone else’s timeline. Over time, we can drift further and further from the centre of who we are.
But alignment is always available. And we can return to it through awareness.
So what does alignment feel like?
Alignment feels like ease. It feels like clarity, even if the path is uncertain.
When we are in alignment, the body relaxes, the breath deepens, and decisions feel grounded rather than rushed. It doesn’t mean life becomes free of challenges, it just means we meet life from our truth, not someone else’s.
And what does misalignment feel like?
Misalignment could be feeling drained by things that “should” make you happy. It could be comparing yourself to others and feeling “behind”, or maybe feeling resentment, irritation, or heaviness, or doing things because you think you have to, not because you want to.
These feelings aren’t wrong, they are simply signals. The body is wise. It tells us when we’re wandering away from ourselves.
So how do we gently return to alignment
Alignment isn’t found in big life changes or dramatic steps. It’s found in the small moments of honesty we offer ourselves.
Begin with questions like:
Is this choice aligned with my values or someone else’s expectations?
Does this fill me up or drain me?
Am I acting from comparison, fear or truth?
What version of success feels genuine for me and does my life reflect that?
Living in alignment means embracing that your path won’t look like anyone else’s, and it shouldn’t. Your pace, your desires, your rhythm, your seasons … they are yours.
Success might mean stillness.
Success might mean family.
Success might mean creativity, connection or joy.
Success might mean a simple life or a bold one.
But success is yours to define.
Copying someone else’s life is like trying to force a yoga pose your body isn’t ready for, it creates strain, not strength.
So take a quiet moment. Hand on heart. Hand on belly. Breathe deeply. Ask: “What do I truly value? And am I living in a way that honours that?”
Even one small shift or a clearer boundary, a gentler pace, a more honest yes or no can bring you back to alignment.
When we live in alignment, everything feels lighter. Life stops feeling like something to chase and starts feeling like something to inhabit. We feel more like ourselves, and that is the deepest freedom there is.
With love always,
Kate