Skip to main content

Cold Yoga


 Last night, eleven of us gathered for yoga. A cold night is the time to welcome a warm class. But I walked into the studio and the heater wasn’t working. 

Broken. 
Now what? 
It’s an old building. Sometimes, this is how it is. 
Still…a chilly space isn’t even close to ideal for yoga. So, when people arrived at class, I offered, “would you like to cancel class and wait til the heater is fixed?”
No one left. Not one. 
Instead, they wore coats and warmed blankets next to space heaters. They joked about “cold yoga” vs “hot yoga.” They shuffled their mats around so they could share the warmer spots with one another. 
And they practiced yoga. 
This is how it goes in my classes. It is never perfect…but it always is what it is without much struggle. 
It is…
Letting go of expectations. 
Having a different perspective.
It is going with the flow in a balanced manner. 
Mostly, yoga in my humble studio is about the yogis who gather each week and show up on their mat with grace and dedication. 
I learn a lot from them. 
Last night was one of the truest yoga classes we’ve had at our studio. 
Because last night was about uniting. 
Not just mind, body and breath. 
But uniting together…
on a cold winter night,
in a room full of warm hearts. 
Uniting together. 
What yoga is.
Namaste my friends

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunrises

 In early June I had my younger brother John up to a cabin.  He had come a long way to be there with me.  Where he traveled from, the sun rose over the ocean every day and set near the mountains. He could see them both from his porch. Here, in northern Wisconsin, was a small lake, not an ocean. There were no mountains-just a tree line that was sprouting furled leaves not long after the snow melted. And there wasn’t a porch with a view. You had to walk, with warm slippers and hot tea, out to the end of a weather-worn pier to catch the sunrise.  Which I did, while he was there.  I think it was the most beautiful sunrise I experienced in 2023.  I’ve learned that life is funny that way; the seemingly unremarkable moments-can become exquisite when you know…they are fleeting. Or when you face the harsh reality, that they are gone. I never made it to his porch across the world, when he was alive, to share the views he wanted to share with me.  But I’m realizi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rejection

  A bit ago, the Arts Mill had a call for art for the BIG show. I was excited to participate-NSAA is near and dear to me. And it would be my first attempt to paint (and sell) a large canvas. I was pretty proud of the painting I created.  I submitted it. It was not accepted into the show. It was REJECTED. I’m not going to pretend this didn’t sting. Or that thoughts of “well, it’s clear I’m not a painter. I wonder who I should donate my paint supplies to?” didn’t cross my mind. But I always go through the “poor me” stage. After all-being an author means that rejection isn’t new to me.  When I dusted myself off from all of that, I asked the Arts Mill’s director, if I could pay her for a critique of my art now that the show (without my painting) was over. (I get critiques for my writing-why not have a critique on my painting?) She was straightforward and shared her exquisite wisdom in a gentle and kind way, which is the perfect blend for learning. The painting that came forth...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grateful

 I’m grateful for those… Who share sunrises with me, or send them-you renew in me a sense of hope Who hike the trail with me-you help connect me to what is true Who travel with me-to the store, on a trip, in a relationship, or on the journey of this lifetime-you help me experience the comfort of companionship Who have been hurt by me-and hopefully forgiven me, you’ve humbled and softened me to be better Who have been my teacher-you’ve expanded my perspective Who have left me-in a business, a relationship, from this life-you remind me what matters to me, and what I need to care for tenderly Who work with me-on houses, buildings, cabins, businesses and financial plans-you teach me teamwork and how to think wider Who have interacted from a distance-on social media with a comment, as a stranger handing me your child to hold for a photo in India, as a reader of my book somewhere I”ve never been-you’ve shown me how connections matter Who have left this life too early-you’ve shown me what...
Post a Comment
Read more