Yoga doesn't always give you what you want but it always gives you what you need.
As you may be able to discern I am conscious of opening my heart these days. In both the spiritual and emotional sense, as well as physically, I have been overprotective of it. My shoulders have shrugged up to my ears, my chest sunk back towards my spine, my shoulder blades stretched apart. I was anxious about going to class on Sunday night. It was a studio I didn’t often frequent, yoga was no longer free, I felt wrapped up in the small things in my life that I had a) little to no ability to control and b) that are truly the small things. I stepped into the warm studio and into the release and playfulness I craved without knowing it. My skin was hot, the chill of a freezing weekend melted from my pores. A class full of gentle openings of the heart and chest made me realize just how I had been carrying my … crap. All the tension stacked in my upper spine, shoulders, chest, suffocating me without my knowing. As the class went on our instructor continued to remind us just to let it go, to breathe, to be in the room, in the moment and let the thoughts, stresses or just the tension of our days, our weekends, anything that was holding us back go. With each reminder I exhaled a little bit of anxiety, about the past and about the future. Each inhale felt stronger, more free. My shoulders sunk away from my ears and my shoulder blades down my back. My heart was able to shine.
Our Sunday night was filled with play too. I am actively amazed that age seems to steal this idea of play from us so we find ourselves surprised when it indeed happens. Whether it's hanging around upside down in yoga, kissing someone for the first time, running really fast to pop music, singing in the car. Play. We need more of it. Pincha Mayurasana is not always my idea of play. It is not a posture I crave. It is similar to handsand but is practiced on the forearms. It came at a point in the practice when we were all pretty open, a little giggly and warm from the heated room and flow of the class. The cues and modifications to get into the posture and the partner support made it more fun than ever. Something that I am usually consciously afraid of not looking good at became simple, fun, a little exhilarating. A little safe adventure to top off a relaxing and restorative class. So all in all I went to yoga because I wanted to spend time with a good friend. What I got out of it was exactly what I needed. This is what is inspiring today.
No comments:
Post a Comment