So, spring is officially in full swing, and I admit that I have been slacking, dear reader. I’ve been having a great time traveling around the country, and taking time off to visit my peeps and just relax. While I have been practicing yoga when in town, I haven’t been doing a very good job of keeping up with it when I am elsewhere.
Such is life. In a couple of weeks, most of the fun will be over, and it will be easier to get back into a good rhythm with The Yoga Experiment. My teachers stress that it is important to take some time off, and to not force yourself into it if you aren’t feeling it. So, I’m not worried.
And even though my practice has been intermittent, I still have been noticing some gradual changes over the last month. When I started TYE, the most immediately apparent area in which I needed to improve was my hamstring flexibility. If you’ve been reading over the last five months, you’ll agree that it has been somewhat of an obsession. But while I have been focused on my legs, knees, and hips, other things have been happening beyond my notice.
Last week during class, I surprised myself by getting easily into marichyasana (pictured at right). The posture involves a twist, and if you can’t tell from the picture, the hands clasp together around the other side. Several ladies in the class who have been watching my progress since the beginning of the year, broke the customary silence of the class and gasped, “wow! Look at her!” I was slightly embarassed, but super happy and proud of myself at the same time. I’m finding lots of new flexibility in my spine and back muscles, and I am starting to be able to twist further into things than I ever thought possible. This, this is what it is about. Persistence.
Today is my 29th birthday, and while I have been having plenty of existential angst over entering the last year of my 20’s, and the state of my life in general, I am largely glad to be here, right now, at this point in my life. There are still lots of small issues I have been struggling with, but when I get discouraged, I only need to look at how far I have come to know that I have the strength to go even further. May you be blessed with your own wisdom.
Namaste.