Friday, October 12, 2012

Yoga Lesson

I went to class last night at 6 and it was great.  James led us through a wonderful 90 minute moving meditation and I realized how unfair I had been to go into a yoga class with expectations of anyone other than myself.  I still hold that perhaps he shouldn't have positioned himself as close as he did, but I should never have expected anything of his practice.  That's not how yoga works.

The reason last night's class was so good, I believe, is that James really kept us focused on our breath.  He was patient, encouraging, and focused.  And no, I don't think he ever opened the door, but I didn't notice the heat as much as usual and I didn't drink as much water throughout the class as usual, nor did I douse my towel with water to cool myself (both are habits we are encouraged to let go of).  So there it is, I learned one of the lessons of yoga.  Let go of your expectations -- even expectations of yourself... the only goal you should have when you practice yoga is to be present and do your best.  Not a bad goal for every minute of each day, whether practicing yoga or not, wouldn't you say?

And yes, I completed my 100 push-ups yesterday.  Two days down, 98  to go.

Since I have no yoga-related images, I'll show you a pic of the kitty we adopted about a year and a half ago to torment Hans and Tinka (ok, not the goal, but he's awfully good at it!).  Here he is... our little Gatsby when we first brought him home in May of 2011!

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