July was quite a month for me. I was movin’ and shakin’ all month long. Non-stop. Every day, there was something. Every weekend, I over programmed myself.
While it was a wonderful month, I came back from San Diego…. EXHAUSTED.
Throughout the month of July, I was a little more open to dining out… to having a cupcake… and to skipping the gym, en lieu of working at night. Seriously, I don’t even know how I wrote content for NTTC there was so much going on. Thanks for hanging in there with me, folks…
And, when the end of July arrived, I felt as though I had been changed…. in many ways, for the better, but in other ways, I had slipped back into an uncomfortable place.
Uncomfortable in an eerily familiar way… uncomfortable in that way where I didn’t know if I could get myself back on track. Truthfully, I was worried. Very worried. Not only had my eating habits slipped significantly, but I also hadn’t been to the gym regularly since… well… Fitbloggin.
For the past month in regard to healthy living, I’ve felt like I was on the edge of an avalanche… where the ground feels unsteady, as though it’s about to crumble.
I knew I had agreed to go to Yoga on the Rocks bright and early on Saturday morning. My friends over at Core Power Yoga offered me free tickets to attend, and I even roped my friend Erin into joining me… but, did I really want to practice yoga? Most definitely, no. I was out of practice and had felt lethargic for the past week.
What I wanted to do was sleep… but I’d committed to going, so I set my alarm for what I like to call “the butt-crack of dawn” on Saturday morning. I’ll let you in on a secret amongst us friends… I am so not a morning person. Not even close…
Saturday morning came quickly, and I dressed and headed to Red Rocks Amphiteater for the event. I’ve talked about Red Rocks here before both for a concert and for Film on the Rocks, but I realize that not everyone is familiar with my amazing state… so I’ll give you a peek at its amazingness.
It is one of the best venues in the country for live music. Surrounded by gorgeous red rocks, the acoustics are phenomenal… and then, there’s that view too. I’m guessing that not every state has this little gem.
When we arrived, Erin and I checked in… grabbed our free Core Power mats and orange sunglasses and went to find a spot to practice. I knew I was in for a treat when I saw my favorite concert venue filled with brightly colored mats and yogis practicing their favorite headstand poses throughout the amphitheater.
As we set up our area, I was still hesitant about how I my personal practice would go. Knowing that I’d be practicing on unforgiving cement, I layered the giveaway mat underneath my Affirmats mat for extra support… as if those the words staring back at me weren’t enough support. I love this mat… and I love that these words stared back at me for the next 60 minutes. I needed them, and I repeated them throughout the class.
Can we again pause at the magnitude of this venue??
As the class began, Amelia Earhart kicked the event off… what an incredible and beautiful story she has. If you’re not familiar, she recently just flew around the world!
She also reported that she is a huge fan of yoga… and spoke about her practice. The instructor, Inanna Jessop, took over shortly after and we got to work.
Inanna described the purpose of the class was to “ground down in order to rise up.” How beautiful is that? And, truthfully, I feel like that is exactly what happened to me during the next 60 minutes.
We warmed up, and then completed the most beautiful sun salutations and balance poses. We spent some time working the core (they don’t call it “Core Power Yoga” for nothing!), and as we were working our way into savasana, I had that moment… the “I’m practicing my beloved yoga at freakin’ Red Rocks” moment… and it was then that I realized things had begun to shift.
When our time in savasana ended and Sam Smith stopped singing (love him!), I wanted more time. When we sealed our practice with a collective namaste, I almost didn’t want to say that beautiful word… because it meant it was over.
Erin and I packed up our stuff to leave, and it took me forever to roll up my mats. In that moment, I thought I was just too relaxed and not focusing… but in reality, I didn’t want to leave.
Something else happened that was incredibly significant… I realized that my body and my mind was craving yoga. My cells hadn’t forgotten how this practice serves them. It remembered, even when I took a month off… it remembered. And, it responded.
I was energized, poised, and for the first time in weeks… empowered and inspired. I knew that I COULD again… and with that, I knew that I WOULD.
And what would I or could I do? Ever since, I’ve felt the possibilities to be limitless.
Since then, I’ve had a laser focus on being grounded, fueling my body with healthy foods, and setting intention of what will come in upcoming days, weeks, months…
This journey that I’m on has lots of ebbs and flows. I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t… but the recent pause scared me. After that beautiful practice on Saturday morning, I don’t fear a thing. I’ve got too much that I want in my life to worry about fears… and it appears that when I get lost, all I have to do is get back on my mat.
Thank you to Core Power Yoga for providing Erin and I with complimentary passes to participate in Yoga on the Rocks. I can’t wait to join you guys again next year!
[…] year, Erin and I trekked to Red Rocks bright and early on a Saturday morning and got our ohm on… not only was it a great workout, but there was […]