THE YOGA IN ME

YOGA IN ME

There was a time when I would never have imagined participating in a yoga class.  My only understanding of the activity was a picture of a maharaja sitting on a piece of carpet, long bearded, with his legs crossed in the squat position, humming the sound “Yom” until he ran out of breath.

Somehow, and I mean somehow because I really don’t know how, I attended an aquayoga class, skeptically, and came out of it a believer! 

The experience is calm and relaxing, focused and intensely quiet. It’s all about breathing in and breathing out, but not just breathing in and breathing out air … it’s also about breathing in the good and breathing out the not so good thoughts and feelings within oneself. Whether it’s a problem to solve or approach to figure out, in the end it is really all about becoming a listener to your inner self, and balancing the body, mind and soul. 

So, for example today, I went to aquaYOGA class to help my mind sort through an opportunity that has come my way.  In a lot of ways the opportunity is obviously the next step in moving me forward in a skill I have been tinkering with for years. But, for some reason, my mind has gone full speed ahead to the end of the rainbow to the successful end of a long chain of steps to get there. It’s caused me to ask myself if I am ready to go there and have my current cosy, happy life change significantly into a whole new world — less quiet, less calm, less private, more demanding, possibly stressful and definitely public.

Through the process of focusing inward, with the sound of the soft, slow voice of the instructor, and delightfully calming music in the background, I saw the rainbow arch and realised there is still a long way to go to get to what’s at its end. 

At this moment in time, I’ve been handed an opportunity not an end. Opportunity means a series of stepping stones that I can choose to follow or not. It’s what I do with the opportunity that will determine if I get to whatever is waiting at the end. 

This revelation leads me to stop focusing on the end. The end is not the goal. The steps to get there is the goal.  Now is the time to start focusing on comfortably, confidently and calmly moving from breath (step) to breath (step), listening to the voice within, and do what needs to be done to get to where I could possibly go — and, feeling sure that is truly the high mountain position I want to accomplish.

AquaYOGA has done this for me. 

Nomaste: go forward in peace, and so it shall be. Next step is in the works …