Guest post by Lyndsey- Enjoy!
I had a very cool class this
afternoon and wanted to share my thoughts with someone who I know will
appreciate them. We had a traveling instructor, which I always love. You know, you get used to your
favorite instructors... their style, their dialogue, etc. There's nothing like
a class with your favorite instructor. But... it's predictable. You know when
you’re going to get three extra seconds to breathe. That extra sip of water.
The poses they’re really going to kick your ass on, because you can do it and
you know it, and they know it, and maybe you just need a tough love reminder by
staying in it for five extra seconds. With travelers, you never know what
you’re going to get in the hot room, and I love that. That’s the beauty of this
yoga... whether familiar, or strange, the poses never change, the sequence
never changes, only you change, by getting better, stronger, happier. Every
instructor leaves you with a piece of themselves to take with you to your next
class and integrate into your practice. A class with your favorite instructor
is like pushing open your own front door at the end of a long, exhausting,
frustrating day. Ahhh, home. I know this. It’s comforting. I like being here. A
class with someone you’ve never known until five minutes earlier when you met
in the lobby is like stepping on an airplane... you’re going somewhere, it’s
going to be an adventure, it’s exciting, but you never know just EXACTLY what
you’re going to get.
So this lady probably could have been
somewhere in her fifties but she had an incredible body, youthful glow, young
spirit and I just thought... that's the yoga. I hope and pray that when I reach
that point in life I'm as healthy and happy and rock solid as this lady. The
other thing that made class unique was it was a small class and all women. Five
of us. Always a cool dynamic. She had us all use the middle row and it just
created a very cool energy in the room. I could feel us all feeding off each
others’ strength and it was a very powerful class. When I was weak, wobbly, and
short of breath, the girl next to me was kicking ass and it would cause me to
dig down for some deep inner strength and know that I CAN DO IT TOO. And when
someone else was The Wobbler, I was strong, controlled, poised, and could share
just enough of that energy to hold myself up and maybe encourage someone else
to get back in the posture.
The coolest moment for me
though was camel pose, second set. Instead of facing the front mirror she had
us face the back wall to start. In the full expression, we ended up looking at
our own posture in the front mirror... upside down with our smiling happy
faces.
It was incredible!!! Such an exhilarating moment for me. I looked at myself in
the posture and just thought wow, look at my body! It's amazing! Beautiful,
strong, powerful. Not the kind of thoughts I think about myself without yoga!
But I gained so much respect for myself in that moment. I realized that in
spite of its flaws or pain or whatever else, my body is powerful and capable
and full of potential. Anyway, it was a really cool moment for me and a great
class and I just wanted to share.
Thank you all for reading and
sharing your love of Bikram yoga! Special thanks to Michelle for being so kind
as to invite me to write a guest post about my mountain top experience! Keep
smiling, and don’t forget to breathe! Namaste!
Lyndsey is a compassionate nurse and adorable yogini who
resides in Florida. When she's not out
saving lives or hanging out with her handsome hubby, she immerses herself in
the hot room. She likes the shooting
range, dragging her hubby out of bed mercilessly on his days off for breakfast
and pretty flowers. She dreams of
teacher training someday. Who
knows? Perhaps she and I could end up at
the same training someday. Now wouldn't
that be amazing! God bless the interwebs
for bringing us all together. The
virtual Bikram community rocks! ~ Bikramyogachick
