Before that, I always thought of yoga classes as a room full of skinny, blond, scantily-clad young women. I could *never* have envisioned myself there. Now, not only did I see myself there, I followed through and put myself there (Note to Self: many of them are full-figured, dark- or gray-haired, and wear T-shirts... 😉 )
The gym instructor made me feel that I could do *most* of what she taught, but also offered challenges I could see myself achieving on down the road. None of it would have been possible without Victoria's patient and loving tutelage. She trained me up to fly away (roots and wings), and my gratitude is eternal.
I continued classes at the gym until the pandemic, and now I have a home practice, either Yoga with Adriene via YouTube or on my own with a series of poses I've put together. It's a great way to start the day (or mid-afternoon or evening), stretching, breathing, escaping yet at the same time attuning. So many challenges, but so much growth as well. I am amazed when my body will do things I never envisioned. What a great journey indeed.
However, I still have problems with tree pose, but we all know that balance, on many levels, has never been my strong suit... 😁
SONG: Alive by Dala
POEM: First Yoga Lesson by Mary Oliver
"Be a lotus in the pond,” she said, “opening
slowly, no single energy tugging
against another but peacefully,
all together.”
I couldn’t even touch my toes.
“Feel your quadriceps stretching?” she asked.
Well, something was certainly stretching.
Standing impressively upright, she
raised one leg and placed it against
the other, then lifted her arms and
shook her hands like leaves. “Be a tree,” she said.
I lay on the floor, exhausted.
But to be a lotus in the pond
opening slowly, and very slowly rising–
that I could do.
QUOTE(S): "Love is a friendship set to music." ~ Joseph Campbell
“Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.” ~ Storm Jameson
No comments:
Post a Comment