Here comes the sun

Yoga is so beautifully metaphoric, I really like it. After starting strong with a 3-times-a-week goal at the start of this month and sticking to it for 2 weeks I fast dropped off to 1 and then zero last week. I let social things and sleep and work take up all the evenings and sleep and housework take up the w’end mornings. Back on the horse tonight though, with a class straight after work and felt so good for it.

I left and thought ‘my body is carrying me home’ as if my brain was ever so peaceful and just hitching along for the ride. Every step feels balanced and strong straight after yoga. My legs were wobbly from a few lingering lunges, and arms feeling very zingy from plank and half plank poses because my upper body is not used to any real exertion.

I’m doing hatha yoga, which is slow, and quite static compared to other kinds, but still very interesting. It requires patience and perseverance to relax into strong stretches, and it is amazing how much strength it takes just to keep your own body still, balanced, extended. I like the fact that in a long pose there is time for your mind to wander and wander back. I like that the thing that you need to work with most, get to know most, move past is yourself. It becomes so clear how your own doubts, frustration or self-judgment is what holds you back – not the physical limitations of your body, because they are changeable. Ultimately the objective isn’t a more impressive stretch or mega flexibility – the objective is to be in the moment and focused on the movement. As my teacher was saying tonight, any flexibility or strength or balance your develop over time is a by-product of, not the goal of, the meditation.