Yoga Healing

I went to my beloved candlelight yoga tonight.  I haven’t been to any yoga this week, and I was starting to feel it.  Looking back, I haven’t felt like myself all week.

My body seemed stiffer, stress seemed to roll through my shoulders and nestle between my shoulder blades.  It seemed harder to relax my jaw after a long day.

Yoga has changed me.  It’s amazing how when I walk into that studio, I instantly feel the calm.  Yoga has taught me that I am entitled to the peace and goodness that it brings… and that it’s all within my grasp.  That is, if I’m willing to practice.

Maybe it was the fact that I needed it more desperately tonight than I could have even imagined… but I had a pretty powerful experience in class.  Tonight, I needed to be around friends.  And frankly, to get out of my head.  To stop thinking about the things in life that don’t matter, and just breathe.

There are a few things that I feel like I NEED to do for myself each week.  1)  Sleep – I really like my sleep, and I need it to function.  2)  Working Out – It just gets the stress out, and it’s an investment in ME.  When I don’t do it, I feel unbalanced.  3)  Blogging – It’s been a light week for me, and I don’t like it one bit.  See, for me… blogging is my outlet.  Blogging keeps me on track.  It’s sort of become a part of who I am.  When it’s missing, I don’t feel right.

These are my personal basics.  Ones that I refuse to neglect as we move into a new week next week.

When I first saw Deb at class, I told her that I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it through the session.  I was telling her a story about my week and literally teared up.  I know that it was because I was exhausted.  I lose control of my tear ducts when I’m sleepy.  It just happens.  But I was in that fragile place, just until the class got started.

If you would have told me I would have been energized by class, I would have told you that you were crazy.  I honestly thought I’d pass out during the first child’s pose.  On the contrary, I was engaged throughout the entire hour.

I would have never guessed that our proud warrior stances would be invigorating to me.  Or that my time spent in half moon was about more than balancing on one foot… it would be about me making it through one more day and symbolic of tackling every challenge that had crossed my path this week.  And I would have never suspected the final savasana would be an intense exercise in quieting my mind… a supreme challenge with so many other things running through my brain.

I also think this is the first time this week that I’ve paid a moment of attention to my breath.  For those of you who practice yoga, you know how powerful the breathing is… and how eye opening at times.  Tonight my brown eyes were WIDE open.

I’ve included a few quotes tonight that my amazing instructor has shared during our classes.  She always shares something that lifts me up and gets me thinking.  I love to hear what Susie has in store for us each week in her pink book.

She also touched on another topic that I truly love.  She shared that “A yoga practice is not taught; it’s remembered.”  I tend to agree with this… for me, it’s as though my body was meant to practice.  I’m compelled to practice and I crave it.  Now, my challenge is to listen to it…

If you haven’t “remembered” yoga lately, I highly recommend you do it soon.  Just as you stretch further into each pose, you’ll be delving a little deeper into yourself… perhaps further than you’ve been before.

Namaste ~ xoxo