Yoga is not Something You do, It's Who You Are

Those of you who have taken any of my yoga classes know that the reason I theme each class is to help you separate the poses from the rich spirituality that yoga offers the mind and spirit.  Anyone can do yoga poses...anyone.  If you  just rolled your eyes and thought of some of the harder crazier poses, you have allowed the ego to step in and say, Ha! You cannot do that.  But if you stop to think again, your heart knows that you can do a yoga pose. It might be child's pose, it might be tree, it might be corpse, it might be warrior, it might be a stretch or it might be a twist but you can do at least one and so you can practice yoga. 

What I fear is that not everyone is being offered or making the connection to how your yoga practice becomes a life skill for your mind.  What I am writing right now is not something I have presented as a "theme"; it is more of a blog, I suppose. My week has been a series of really amazing highs and breath-squandering lows.  But what I noticed this week, more than any other, is that I didn't have to remind myself to stay present or to breathe, it just happened and the sense of calmness I have maintained on the inside has been surreal.

I have looked at every "life event" this week with the understanding the Universe knows best. When my son broke his toe and we had to cancel a baseball tournament in Nebraska that was already paid for up front, my next thought was the Universe is slowing us down for a reason.  And, oh, yes it was!  Our greyhound broke his scapula.  We would have left him at home with a caretaker while we were gone but the Universe knew the depths of this injury and prepared us to be here for four weeks of slings and cratings.  I allowed my mind the human-ego satisfaction of thinking about what led to this, how it could have been prevented and what comes next but I was never attached to those thoughts.  I kept coming back to these are the facts of where I am now; what do I do in this moment?

I have uttered the word gratitude so many times because I am so grateful. I am grateful I can offer the dog Reiki, grateful he is alive, grateful my son only broke a toe, even grateful he was having fun when it happened...I am grateful the rain stayed away for my daughter's graduation party while being grateful I own many blankets so guests could bundle up. 

Each day, each hour, each moment. One hobbling step forward at a time, perhaps, but always forward.  Going back to the HS graduation for a moment, I was surprised but not surprised (can't think of the right word) at how many parents were sad. People kept asking me are you sad?  I am convinced it is my spiritual practice of yoga that didn't understand this question. I am excited looking forward to what comes next! And, when I say next, I mean tomorrow and then the next tomorrow. I look forward to seeing how our paths' unfold and am grateful life continues to move forward.

I know everyone can "do yoga". But it is my hope for yogi's everywhere (from brand new to advanced) that the realization of what yoga is outside of the poses finds its way into your everyday life. Without this aspect of the practice...well, my yoga reminds me not to dwell on what would have been in the past.