This morning was such a gift. I woke up gradually, noticing that I had left the bedroom window open and could hear the birds singing. Usually I wake up to a preschooler who has sneaked in sometime before dawn and tucked himself up under my right arm (this is pretty great, too). And usually there’s a soon-to-be toddler bouncing on his knees saying “Please! Please” for breakfast. But today, everyone was still sleeping.
I got up, dug through my dresser drawers for my favorite red yoga pants and pulled on a tank top, washed my face, brushed my teeth and headed downstairs with my baby now balanced on my left hip. There was just enough time to get the boys ready, in a non-rushed way (always best; read here), so that I could take a yoga class this morning.
I didn’t think to check the schedule.
When class began, I noticed that I was in a beginner class. Level 1. No big deal, I like Level 1 classes very much. But what I had forgotten is how hard they are! Movement is very slow, very deliberate, and very refined. There was clarification on mula bandha and uddiyana bandha. The focus was on moving in stillness; not restoratively per se, but mindfully.
Why oh why do we move away from this kind of class?
Over and over again, I heard “use your breathing systems” and “organize the pose.” What a luxury to hear this, to be in tune with this, to do this. To organize, specifically.
Take your home or your desk, for instance. When there is clutter and disorganization there, don’t you feel stress? A little tightness in the chest or shoulders? As though you can’t find something?
When we take the time to organize, to put things in a better spot, or to simply declutter the pose and the mind…we breathe easier and with less effort. We can concentrate more fully and feel more connected to the pieces of ourselves: our arms, our legs, our pelvis, our spine, our top palate. We can move from the external to the internal, and from there, we learn to move from the internal back out to the external.
Today, my intention is to keep it simple.
There’s freedom there.
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