A slice of heaven

Last night was 5pm with Lacey.  She is leaving for a trip to Peru soon so I was glad to be able to take her class before she goes.  After the first set of half moon, she went over the form for the backbend with us.  I paid attention and applied everything she said second set and made some major progress.   I was upside down looking at the wall, then the ballet bar, then the floor!  Ahhh, the floor!  Now that was a little slice of heaven.  I came out of the backbend totally yoga stoned and happy.  I was practicing next to my "comfort" friend and we both had great classes.  At the end of savasana we lay next to each other quietly, holding hands.  Another slice of heaven.  Yoga friends are the best!

Creepy Camel Smile

Tonight was 5pm with Stephanie.  My friend Chris was practicing next to me.  The one I wrote about the other day, who says I give him comfort just by being next to him.  Of course, I receive the same from him, so we feed off of each other.  I had a great practice overall and was feeling especially supple in the spine.  By the time we got to camel I really focused on how I got into the posture.  When I put my hands on my "hips" I made sure my arms were not sticking out like chicken wings.  Then I took a deep breath, pushed my hips toward the mirror put my head all of the way back and eased into the backbend.  By the time I got to the part to put my hands on my heels, it was not a far reach by any means.  I breathed, pushed my hips toward the mirror more and pictured my spine being like a waterfall.  I suddenly realized I could see my own mat and towel!  I've been that deep before when I used to practice daily and do challenges, but it's been over a year since I've been able to get that far in.   I was so happy that I almost laughed out loud and when I came out of the posture I had a huge grin on my face that actually looked kind of comical.  Well, maybe even a bit creepy, since I was hanging upside down at the start of the smile.  I lay in savasana afterwards and the smile remained on my face.  I felt like I had found bliss!

The worst class is the one you don't go to

Last night was 5pm with the lovely Lacey.  She warned me via facebook earlier that I would get special "love" in standing head to knee.  She's been working with me on that posture and is hoping I will nail it when I'm in her class someday.  Alas, it was not to be last night.  I kept falling out as soon as I kicked out.  I couldn't balance to save my life.  But I kept getting back in, kept trying.  The class was small for some odd reason, only 11 of us.  We were spread out loosely each enjoying plenty of our own space.  In a way, I prefer a busier class, I think it helps me balance!  All of those yogis holding me up!
I finished class disappointed in my lackluster performance, but as always, grateful that I was there.  I've heard it said "the worst class is the one you don't go to".  I agree wholeheartedly!

Comfort

Last night I took the 5pm class.  The owner of the studio was teaching.  She has a nice voice, it really puts me into a good frame of mind.  She also kept the room perfect.  I wanted to melt into my practice and wash away in a tide of good warm feelings.  I wasn't all that strong for some reason, but I did not get out of breath either.  So I sailed through a mediocre practice, happy just to be in the room.
Two very good yogi friends were present.  One had just returned from Peru, in fact he just landed two hours earlier and came straight to yoga!  The three of us practiced together, in a row, feeding off each other.  The guy in the middle is a good friend of mine.  We know each other from other places outside of yoga and find such joy in practicing next to each other.  During final savasana he reached over and hooked his pinky around my finger.  We lay there, breathing and resting as one yogi.  At the end of class he remarked happily "I had my slap buddy (they like to swat at each other during full locust) on one side and my comfort on the other."  I just smiled, because I knew I was the comfort and it made me feel good. 

"How bout you namaste your crazy ass away from me!"

This is your life.....

Hope

Who is out there that you affect?  Do you make clothes or art?  Cars?  Is there something you do that affects lives of people you will never meet?  We are all connected, never alone, even when sitting in solitude.  Yesterday I was talking with a friend and he asked me if I had hope.  I looked at him and said "for what?"  He said,  "do you even know what hope means?  It's the expectation of a positive outcome." That floored me and stayed with me the rest of the day and I woke up thinking about hope.  I used to have hope, then for while, it left.  The great thing about the human spirit is that it rebounds.  It is resilient, just as our bodies, minds and even hearts are.  I went to yoga, hopeful.  When I arrived, one of my facebook yoga buddies asked if this was my blog.  She found it five months ago and read it.  She encouraged me to keep writing, in fact she challenged me, with a twinkle in her eye, to post today.  I went into class, thinking about hope, and thinking about affect.  My blog, in some way, affects those I haven't met, and some I have or will.  Perhaps it provided information, encouragement, maybe even....hope.
Class ended up being a nice, juicy, 90 minute moving meditation.  I stretched, pulled, sweated, breathed and listened to Jason lead us through with grace and style.  He has grown so much since coming back from teacher training.  That's one of my favorite things about teacher training time.  Watching fellow yogis leave and then watching their journey, to find their rhythm and style when they return.  It's beautiful. I lay on my mat at the end of class, sated, happy, hopeful and encouraged to dust off this blog and continue my journey with you.