While brushing my teeth tonight, I realised today marks my 365th class for the year! One class a day since 02 Jan 2009, with a double class in Switzerland and Sweden. My challenge is “12 Months, 12 Countries, a 30 Day Challenge in each” so technically 365 Days finishes on 01 Jan 2010; 2 classes to go here at BYBA!
I should be over the moon, well over all the poses now that I’m close to the end, but something quite strange has happened to my yoga practice which finally I’d like to share. I guess it started at Bikram Yoga Viña del Mar, Chile (month 11) but not quite comprehending or believing, I kept quiet, fearful I would jinx myself.
So, what happened? Well, I think I actually started to practice Yoga. Let me explain; as you know, there are so many things to focus on, explore and ultimately, master in your practice: an even and quiet breath, unwavering drishti, a relaxed mind, that to control any one of them, is no small miracle, especially for a relative beginner like me. After the first month and each consecutive 30 Day Challenge, it seemed the harder I pushed, the more I strained, the deeper I breathed, the louder it became, the more I focussed, my vision wavered.
But every month I had new teachers (guides), differing studios (energy centres) and met with more yogis (collective consciousness) – each imparting little morsels of information. Some helped a little, others a lot, some told me what I wanted to hear, others what I needed to know.
At Bikram Yoga Commercial Drive Vancouver, Canada (month 9), a teacher told me, “The more I feel the pain, the more I laugh”. He’d just suffered whip lash and was radiating pain but there he was, grinning ear to ear! Of course I laughed at the absurdity but never forgot this gem and from that day, put it to practice – I felt the pain and I smiled a lot! Slowly, very slowly, all the pieces started coming together and I relaxed more and more into my practice.
So after all this time, I’m finally starting to get what this yoga “trip” is all about. Like the picture I took while wandering in La Recoleta Cemetery, Buenos Aires: Some things you can’t see until you look at them in a different light.