Yielding....

I completed my first week of classes...

I feel grounded, relaxed, focused.

This week one of my instructors talked of yielding -- of allowing gravity to do its work. To trust the ground to carry your weight. Often in standing positions my feet grab, the ankles tense up, the toes arch. Yielding takes the activity out of the muscles, but it's not a slouch either -- there's alignment, posture, breath, most important, there's the presence, the awareness of being in that moment of stillness.

Too often I'm tight, or thinking about where I'm going after class.

This week I found a brief respite of quiet, I rediscovered my mat.

tired and weak, but...

I'm back home and took a class this morning, my first in 8 days.

I paid for missing classes last week -- my shoulders were screaming in downward dog, my legs ached and arms sagged in warrior 1 and 2; let's not talk about 3. Yikes.

But by the end of class, my body began to respond the way I recall it doing ages ago -- at a time when I was taking classes daily.

That seems like such a long time ago -- and it was -- mid-July.

I have no excuses for my lack of consistency. I managed what I could, and now that I'm back, I'll find my way to the mat as much as possible.

A daily practice takes many forms -- yoga is not just a physical experience. having compassion for myself is one way I know I'm getting stronger...

maybe this time off is an important part of my journey.

no mat - no class

but my spirit and focus is strong...

hotel room yoga, finding space between two beds for downward dog -- a spinal twist in a desk chair, a forward bend in the shower -- it hasn't been an ideal yoga week here in North Carolina -- i've made three failed attempts to hit a class, but tonight I am determined to make the 5:45 session at Triangle Yoga, just north of the UNC campus.

while i write pool side, i breathe, i sit up straight in my chair, i gently turn right, i turn left. I rotate shoulders up, down, i shake my head yes and no...

i'll be home soon and back into a routine -- in the meantime my intent is to keep focus despite the lack of a consistent 90 minute physical practice...

A friend sent this the other day:

Main Entry: yogue
Pronunciation: 'yOgFunction: verbEtymology: Sanskrit/Middle French hybrid. Sanskrit, literally, yoking, from yunakti he yokes. French -gue verb form
1 archaic : to dance in a primitive, tribal style2 a : to participate in the practice of yoga: b : to maintain a steadying of the fluctuations of the mind3 : to socialize in a strenuous fashion
- yo·gic /-gik/ adjective, often capitalized

voodoo and haiti

I'm off to the poorest country in the western hemisphere, haiti.

The government might be messed up beyond belief, but there's a spirit there that cannot be denied.

I'll be working on a variety of writing projects. Although I won't get much time to work on my physical practice during this trip, I'll have plenty of time to work on the spiritual side. Getting to meet locals and see how various relief programs work down there will be quite enlightening.

and it should put in perspective the petty issues i complain about here in westport, ct...

i'll be back late saturday night -- until then...

namaste

back in class

it was great to return to my home base for a couple of yoga classes.

and it was cool to connect with friends i hadn't seen in awhile.

i was surprised actually that folks had noticed i wasn't there. lots of people asked where i'd been and wanted to know what was happening. it felt like home, and that's a nice feeling.

i'm off to haiti on wednesday -- doubt i'll be taking a yoga class there, but i'll do some asannas in my room.