Getting To The Heart Of The Matter: Honoring The True You By Louise Applebome

By Louise Applebome

Remember the CBS television panel show back in the 1950s and 60s, “To Tell The Truth?”

In it, the “mystery contestants” included a “real” central character with an unusual job, and two often very-convincing imposters.

The four-member celebrity panel questioned the three and had to guess who was the real McCoy.

Ultimately, the panelists made their best guesses and then finally asked, “Will the real [person’s name] please stand up?” 

Thinking about that iconic show’s format reminded me of the imposters and paradoxes we confront in our everyday lives all the time.

I often reference paradoxes we encounter while on the yoga mat: seeming contradictions or puzzles. 

Listening to the silence within.

Finding presence amidst absence.

Active rest.

These examples speak to the letting go and filtering out of noise, din, and spin from the outer world, in order to “up” the intimacy we enjoy with ourselves…an intimacy of heightened awareness and sensitivity.

They speak to opening to the intricacies and the essence of who we are; to engaging fully in the multi-layered and miraculous dance that comprises our mind, body, heart, and soul.

The authentic self; the intuitive self; the instinctive self. Our inimitable and exclusive spark.

Perhaps it’s fantastical to think that the same authenticity can thrive in other aspects of our lives. But, perhaps it’s also a travesty that it doesn’t.

It seems an ultimate and unfortunate paradox that we are often imposters.  

There can be separate work personas; family personas; sacred personas; secular personas; and friend personas. Fill in the blanks. How many roles and personalities do you play to make sure to accommodate the culture and demands of the environment or the audience around you?

And, how often do you have to get out of your own way in order to remove the facades?

And, doesn’t that beg these questions: What’s authentic and what’s phony? What’s real and what’s manufactured? 

And, how often, throughout our lives, do we behave like someone we’re not?

And, how often do expectations, appearances, and protocol define us rather than being guided by our true nature? 

Although a bit of a cliché, it is said that one of the benefits of aging is gaining the insight and freedom to censor and disguise less and to be honest and true and bold more. 

I’ve recently realized, in new ways, how lucky I am to be able to be me (albeit an ever-evolving work in progress) wherever, whenever, and with whomever.

Uncovering and honoring the true self does not exempt us from grace and humility. They still need to be guiding principles. 

Kindness and compassion must not be stymied. 

Acts that promote love and peace and compromise and equality and tolerance must still reign supreme.

But, just as we try to cast off the obstacles and clutter and useless baggage that follow us onto the yoga mat, it would seem so human and so humane if there was more opportunity to live those same freedoms and truths in all that we do.

“Would the real [INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] please stand up?”

Louise Applebome, 68, is a Certified Yoga Instructor in Dallas. After “retiring” from a vibrant and varied professional career, she became a yoga teacher. She teaches all her classes on Zoom right now and accepts students, young or older, from wherever they are, both geographically and in their pursuit of a yoga practice. Louise will help you stay fit and flexible, and release tension, aches & pains from the body…and the mind. Her yoga studio in Dallas is del norte yoga.  You can reach out to her at [email protected].