Friday, July 19, 2024

yoga with emily

I'm on day 7 of Yoga With Adriene, which was recommended to me many years ago by the late great Duane Lavold, and more recently by a poised and vital 86 year old actress. The sessions are short and relatively 'easy' - if yoga can ever be considered easy.  (I find if I'm doing even the simplest poses to the best of my ability it's kind of hard.)

My interest was kindled after a weekend retreat at my sister's house, where we did two days of yoga and holotropic breathing. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but something foundational changed during that time.  I felt an openness that I hadn't experienced before.  And I wanted to bring whatever that feeling was - peace, acceptance, courage - into my life in a more regular and meaningful way.  So I determined to start up my own practice... But I didn't end up following through on it.  Life got in the way of my intentions as it often does. (Life seems to be endless cycles of discovering and forgetting and rediscovering - spirals leading us back around again and again, making slow progress, but leaving us with some kernel of understanding we didn't have before, if ever so small.) 

It wasn't until later that yoga was brought back to my consciousness by a friend mentioning it.  And so I decided to commit to this program for 30 days.  Adrien is sweet, the classes are pleasant, and doing 30 days seems manageable.  I'm not expecting a transformation, but  I trust the experience will benefit me mentally as well as physically.

No epiphanies yet.  But my body is sore (in a good way) and building some strength. And my impatient mind is starting to simmer down a bit. 

So far so good.