Day 26: A "Nooner"

As I wrote in my blog last night, I had no intention of going to yoga today. I had planned to have my hair done today and skip yoga to do so. Then the weather intervened. This morning working from home as I had planned, I heard that all the schools were closed due to the sleet/ice/snow mix we had overnight and the snow anticipated later today. Then I got the call from the salon that my appointment needed to be rescheduled, stylist has kids and was at home since the schools were closed. Rescheduled for Saturday. The thought hit me...I should go to noon yoga. I've been working all morning and can still bring Ella to daycare, hit up yoga, and be home before the snow and work the rest of the afternoon and evening from home again. Beautiful! I had to share this with the girls, come to noon yoga and get out of Tyson's Corner early before the storm hits!

Unfortunately, Megan couldn't swing it but I was excited when Elizabeth said she'd come. Then she told me Sywann was teaching, ah this was meant to be. Finally, a positive interference, an unexpected chance to get another class in before the end of the month...how excited was I the whole way to class!? So excited!!

Practice was great. Sywann challenged us to work on our focus today, to maintain stillness between the postures. This is definitely one of the harder things to do. There's always the urge to wipe the sweat, adjust clothes, wiggle, etc. They call your savasanas your body's gas station, the place to recover between postures. The stillness and focus on your breath is what brings that recovery, the calm and the energy to push through whatever is next. I think I did pretty good with Sywann's challenge today, not perfect, but good. I have to say that this definitely helped my practice today.

Sywann said today that in coming to class we are changing ourselves. The idea of self induced change stuck with me. I've written about the daily interferences in life, the best laid plans that go awry, and life's little curve balls. All outside changes in our lives, external forces bringing change upon us that we then respond to in the ways we have learned. The idea of creating change for myself by the simple choice of coming to yoga is empowering. We don't always have to wait to react to the things outside of our control but can also choose to affect change within ourselves when we see fit. Over the last few years I've been reminded by others and also remind others myself that we can only control the things we can control and the rest we cannot worry ourselves sick over. What Sywann said was really an extension of that concept. I can control what change I want to make in my body to the extent that I show up for yoga class, from there my body will choose to respond in whatever way it wants, but change will occur. Self change, self control and the courage to find 90 minutes in a day to choose to be selfish and do something for yourself. That is the empowerment of this yoga for me.

I definitely enjoyed my "nooner" today!