Gentle Yoga Friday

I've gone to yoga classes sporadically over the years and the one constant is that I always feel good after yoga. I may feel tired or have some aches in muscle groups that never had to work until yoga class, but it's good pain. The last 2 weeks I have participated in a Friday morning gentle yoga class.

It's only a 30 minute class designed to treat yourself kindly through yoga practice.  I, for one, need this.  The words I use to myself are often unkind and that breeds stress and worry.  I'm working on it.

My life is paced such that I have time to contemplate things more constructively these days rather than operating on 'auto-pilot'. So over the last few weeks I've re-read "Eat, Pray, Love." and seen the movie. I went even further and purchased the soundtrack through iTunes. I know. You think I drank the kool-aid. Well, maybe a little.  I have also pursued some design work, sketched more, considered more what I want to be and do as a mom and and artist and a person.

The part I've walked away with, and it's nothing you haven't heard, read, thought of yourself a thousand times before; I need to be more kind to me to be more kind to you/the world.

There was a pose today where we reached our right arms up behind our backs toward our shoulders. Then take your left arm over your shoulder and reach for the right hand.  They should meet at the excruciating point where you stretch both shoulders to new limits.  I couldn't stretch my left arm as far up my back when we switched sides so I went right to "stupid cancer made my arm lame" and then I looked at the woman in front of me. Her left arm didn't go as far as her right had, either.  Maybe it's not about the lame left arm I after all?  We hugged ourselves to relieve the stress of the stretch afterward. It was a big hug and then it was repeated with the opposite arm on top.  I need to love myself and all my imperfections.

Yoga is all about balance. You stretch one side, then you change to the other. It's all about inhale then exhale, stretch and release, right then left.  Mind and body. Our instructor read a quote to this effect: The waves may crash up against me but the storms will pass.  I left gentle yoga and I felt stronger. I felt loved and loving.

Namaste.