I set this challenge for myself, for my 32nd birthday (7 September, for those of you keeping track). I think this stems back to my 30th birthday, which ended up being a depressing, disaster of a day, completely unrelated to actually turning 30. I decided to take a picture every day for 30 days prior to my 30th birthday of something that made me happy. Some days were easier than others. Some days, at 10pm, I’d be wandering around, trying to find some simple pleasure to photograph. I’m sure I was overthinking it, but at the time I was working through a major bout of depression, so finding something soothing and happy at the end of the day often times would put me into a slight frenzy. But, as usual, I digress.
This year, I decided to give myself 38 days (August 1 to September 7) to attend 32 yoga classes before my 32nd birthday. I have been practicing yoga fairly regularly (2-3 times a week) for the last six months or so, and in case you don’t know me, I don’t really have a “gradual, let’s ease into this” mentality. What better way to spend the month before my birthday than holed up in a yoga studio, bending and twisting my evenings away?
There are two main yoga studios I frequent. The one in Glen Mills is hot- like, almost 90 degrees hot. You sweat out of your nose pores, that’s how hot it is. For 65 minutes you hold 26 positions. Sometimes I’m dizzy, sometimes I teeter and fall, sometimes I move from one asana to the next with little effort and steady breath and a serene feeling. I love it because it never changes- it’s the same thing every day, every time, every teacher. The studio in Wilmington is also heated, but it’s vinyasa, so you flow pretty quickly from one posture to another. It’s not quite as warm but it’s still pretty freaking hot, and it’s 75 minutes, and you’re moving the entire time. There are a few other places I go (when you’re going every day and work full time 40 minutes from home, you need to be a little flexible), but these two places have been my mainstays for a while.
Anyway, I had planned on doing a double today (that would be a class before work and a class after work). I woke up this morning and just couldn’t do it. No big deal. I’ll just go tonight and make it a one-class day.
Well, here I am- 7:39pm. On my couch. Face washed, comfortable clothes on, contacts out. This lovely look is also known as I’m not leaving my house. And, of course, the feelings of guilt set in. I can’t help but look at the calendar as I’m in the kitchen, knowing that I should be five or six classes ahead of where I am actually pacing, that I should have just taken some Advil to rid myself of my headache and just gone, but I didn’t. When I was telling one of my yoga teachers about my challenge recently, her advice to me was twofold- never do more than two classes in a day if you’re doing them hot, and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
Forget my body, I think. My body does what I tell it to, not the other way around.
Tonight is a night where I’ve finally made the correlation between my mind and my body, outside of the yoga studio. My body says sit down, relax, and, hey, while you’re relaxing, there’s a whole bowl of lemons so why don’t you make some lemonade? Which is exactly what I did.
To me, yoga is all about connecting the breath with the body, the mind with the body, and a higher level that gets thrown into that mix. Above it all, my mind is always in charge. Tonight, though, my body is for a change- and I’m listening.
Copyright 2014 Anne Mathay
Anne, as someone who often sets some of those goals truly listen to your body! Your body needed a rest and look, you made lemonade. I have to tell you, I've NEVER made real lemonade!!