go with the flow

I adore winter, I really do. But this year, it wore me out. I caught a mean case of the winter blues, and crawled into hibernation. At the encouragement of a friend, I started thinking about getting more involved with yoga. I had already begun practicing meditation each evening, but I wasn't quite ready to commit to a full fledged yoga practice. I wasn't ready for it's power.

One gray morning, I woke up with my usual aches from a restless night. My body wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed, when I caught a glimpse of my old yoga mat, abandoned in the corner. I thought: "Maybe today?" I'd been awake 20 minutes and was already anticipating the dreary day ahead of me. "No, I'm too tired." In an attempt to relax, I browsed facebook and youtube for inspiration to get my day started when I came upon my friend's youtube page. He spoke of turning intention into action.

So after a full day of uninspired work, I discovered the power of yoga in a 90 minute hot class. Yoga pulled me out of the doldrums, cured my wintry blues and set my soul on fire. It reminded me how to dance in the rain, and how to feel alive. It rejuvenates me. It focuses me. It fills my body with strength. I feel happy, quiet, strong and healthy when I do yoga. Now, I am certainly not a yogini by any means. Not yet. But the influence yoga has had on me the past few months is transforming my life in all the best ways possible.

I've spent many days and nights distressing over what I want to do in this world. I don't have a steady job right now. And my path? It's still a little covered with moss. I haven't quite found it yet. During a yoga session, many people focus on the finished product...the final pose. I like to focus on the in-between. There is a graceful fluidity of yoga as you move between poses, and if you are in tune to it, the whole practice becomes like a dance. And when I finally do ground myself in the pose...it feels that much stronger because I enjoyed getting there. Then I move into something new.

Life isn't about the finished product, it's about the journey. Through my practice, I've figured out not to worry quite so much about where I'm going, and to just keep moving to whatever comes next.

As it began to rain tonight, I ran out to my driveway and welcomed the storm. The rain was thick and heavy as it fell from the sky, and before I knew it I was dancing and laughing with joy. Ain't life grand? :)