National High Five Day

I was in a pose tonight in yoga with my hands over my head, palms out and my yoga teacher came over and gave me a high five.

I love people who give high fives.

And, we have missed it this year, but be prepared for next year:
http://www.nationalhighfiveday.com/

Challenging position.

So wonderful to be back at yoga after missing a few in a row. However, tonight I encountered a minor challenge.

We were asked to stand in a sort of crouched position similar to a quarterback as he's waiting for the snap. Our hands were on our knees and the teacher asked us to make our stomachs visible so we could see what we were doing. He encouraged us that no one was looking and to not be scared to bare skin.

For some reason I ignored this request and continued trying to make my belly dance with my shirt still covering my stomach.

As my teacher passed by he said, "Some of you still cannot see your belly...just move your shirt!"

Sensing he was yelling at me, I slid my shirt up and moved my chin toward my chest. Only...it was literally impossible for me to see my tummy.

Clearly he's never had to squeeze his boobs into a sports bra and lean over.

Let's get naked

You'll have to bear with me the next few weeks...I imagine there will be a lot of posts about yoga. I've committed to a 30 day challenge and I'm hoping to stick with it.

Today was the first class I've taken in a long time that I felt genuinely strong throughout the class. There's a confidence and calmness that comes with that strength. It feels AMAZING.

And speaking of strong creatures, I admittedly looked up the proper use of "bear/bare" for this post and the explanation I found made me smile:

“Bare with me” would be an invitation to undress.

I plan to use that some day, don't you worry.

Breaking through

My yoga teacher usually has a quote he begins and ends his classes with. Today it was:

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” -- Rumi

He further explained that through yoga you open your body and start to remove those barriers and become more like a curious child excited about all the little joys of life. Even if only during class or immediately after. But every class you take, you slowly remove these barriers and catch yourself similar to that child -- "Mom, what's this? Ooooh, look at that! And this?! What is this? Mom, how does this work? Wow..did you see that?"

It's amazing how much that curious joy hides itself sometimes and I love being reminded to reach for it again.

At the end of the class during the deep relaxation, the guy in front of me starting snoring extremely loud. But we're all serious yogis, clearly, and we wouldn't dare laugh. I concentrated on my breath and almost couldn't hear the gurgling anymore. But then someone giggled. At first, I smiled a little and then remembered my breath. Moments later, another snicker. I couldn't help it...we both laughed together, but were able to quiet quickly and sort of laugh silently. I swear I could FEEL everyone else in the room smiling a little bit.

Pop culture invaded my yoga class

My yoga teacher was trying to explain that you need to be honest to yourself and listen to your body. If you're really struggling through a position, then rest. If you feel like you can reach further, than do. Avoid your ego; avoid that negative voice that tends to be more persistent than mosquitoes in the summer.

His advice on how to find your body's answer...just Google it. With your Inner Google.

This made me giggle at first...but there's truth to it. He mentioned that just like the real Google, sometimes bogus answers come up and you have to weed through the crap. But if you submit an honest question, your heart and soul and body will give you an honest answer.

Yea, so what. I'm a wanna-be Santa Monica-living hippie. I dig it.

Another Day

There's something to be said for starting your day early. I realize it's not a super uncommon thing, but for me, it is.

Today I went to an early yoga class and it changed my day. People seem friendlier in the morning -- less honking, more waving and things just seem calm. I'm convinced my yoga teacher steals music from my collection. He always seems to start the class with a favorite of mine that is utterly appropriate.

Today it was Morning Yearning by Ben Harper. And my favorite lyric:
Another day another chance to get it right
Must I still be learning?
Must I still be learning?

Gong Show

Kundalini: the yogic life force that is held to lie coiled at the base of the spine until it is aroused and sent to the head to trigger enlightenment.

I hope today was the revival of my Thursday ritual of Kundalini Yoga at Golden Bridge. My favorite teacher was out sick, and I'm usually a teeny bit judgmental of the substitute...but tonight was magnificent. He ended the class with a gong meditation -- which is exactly what it sounds like: meditation with a yogi dude playing the gong. Whoa.

If a yoga out-of-consciousness experience isn't sunshine...I'm not sure what is.