Sometimes life gets busy, okay…lots of times! Anyway, sometimes things get busy and our schedules fill up and before we know it, things that we enjoy and are good for us, get the slip.
You know what I mean. Between work, kids, family, commitments…etc. etc…sometimes doing the things we love and that feed our soul, get dropped.
This was the case when it came to my weekly hot yoga sessions. I discovered yoga only a few months ago, and was loving it! It was a priority for me because not only did my body feel good when I practiced yoga, my mind did too. Oh, and the fact that I got to have a date with a good friend that I never see anymore, helped too.
But the last few months have been busy. I’ve been overwhelmed and something had to give. Sadly, it was yoga. Until last night. My friend and I made a point to head to yoga after months off.
First off, if you ever take a few months off of hot yoga…well, let’s just say, you’re going to notice it. When class started, I was thinking, “Oh, man, this is going to be tough. What was I thinking?”And ya know what? It was tough. But then, something happened.
The instructor (I’m sure they have a much cooler yoga-type name) was walking around the class talking. Now, normally I don’t really get into all the ‘Ommy-stuff’. When I first started taking yoga, I actually looked for a class that wasn’t full of that ‘fluffy stuff’. And there have been times I’ve just tuned it out. But last night, as the instructor was walking around the room, I was listening.
She spoke about letting go. “Stop holding yourself back,” she said. She talked about being in the moment, being in the pose. Letting yourself feel it and enjoy it. Then she said, “Do that outside of yoga, too.”
Light bulb! Be in the moment. Stop holding yourself back. Um….yes!
Towards the end of the class she had everyone try a move that I’ll call, ‘ridiculous-crazy-standing-pretzel’. Let’s just say, it wasn’t happening, not for most of the class anyway. When it was clear that the majority of us were standing out of the pose, she said, “That’s the great thing about yoga, and life, there’s always something to grow into.” Again. Um…yes!
Such a simple thing to say, but it hit home with me. Maybe it was the intense heat and humidity in the room and the fact that I’d sweat out about three liters of fluid, but the things she was saying were resonating deep within me.
During the final shavasana, she played Israel “IZ” Kamakawiwo`ole’s version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The song permeates your soul. It’s beautiful. It resonated as well.
Sometimes things just click. You have one of those moments where you think, “She’s talking about me.” Or. “This song was written for me.”
Last night was one of those. And when we took our final unifying Om together, I got it. I’ve known pretty much from the first class that yoga is about so much more than flexibility, but every once in awhile, I really remember why.
What’s ‘clicked’ for you lately? Or maybe you need to find time to reconnect with yourself too…
And here’s the official video….Check it out…
