One beautiful step at a time.

Went to a fabulous class yesterday. I feel satisfied that I found my Marin teacher. Since I moved out of the city where my former mentor teaches, I have been looking for another teacher to study with close to my home. This teacher I went to yesterday studied under the same teacher as my former mentor. They were both students of Sarah Powers'. I felt so at home in the class yesterday, and also sufficiently challenged. I modified a lot of the poses to meet me where I am now. When the teacher asked us to choose an intention for our practice I chose "one beautiful step at a time.". A reminder for me to take it easy. Go at my own pace. Resist the competitive urge to try too hard because that could cause injury. Also the intention is to remind me to mentally stay present as opposed to dreaming about the kind of yoga body and life that I think I want to have in the future. I am here now. This is my body now. Doesn't it feel wonderful!?

The modifications I made were either for my wrists (which have long history of tendonitis flare ups), my abdominal and pelvic floor muscles (which need strengthening after having two babies), and my hamstrings (which could gain more flexibility). I am careful to back off if I feel I'm getting close to that "edge". I know from experience how pushing too hard can actually slow me down instead of speed me up.

This photo is of a yogini Christmas tree ornament that a good friend gave me 5 or so years ago when I was just beginning to teach yoga. She (the yogini figurine) sits under the rear view mirror in my car and reminds me to breathe. She's been there the last few years patiently waiting for me to come back to a regular practice. Isn't she lovely.

I am a yoga student

I just got a membership at my favorite yoga studio. I'm creating space in my life to take regular classes. I went to a wonderful class yesterday!

After giving birth to two beautiful, healthy children within the past 4 years, I'm ready to dive back in to regular yoga practice.  It felt so good to be in a public class again knowing that I am returning to a community that I love.  During the last 4 - 5 years, I still attended some public yoga classes including pre-natal, post-natal, baby-and-me yoga, Iyengar, gentle hatha flow, and I tried a hot yoga class recently, too.  Since moving from San Francisco to Marin County (California) 3 years ago, I've taken classes at several to many different yoga studios in Marin to find the one I like best.  It turns out that my favorite yoga studio offers a discount to employees of the non-profit where I work.  Now that my youngest baby is almost 8 months old, and he is happy at his daycare during the work week, I decided to extend his time there from 4 days a week to 5 days a week.  The extra day is for me to complete more work at my job as a nurse, and also for me to take a couple of public yoga classes a week.  After I re-establish my own regular yoga practice, I would like to begin teaching yoga again.

Just incase I had any doubt about my decision to join the yoga studio (verses reserving any extra time to be spent with my children), I was reassured by the presence of another working mom at the studio.  While I was filling out some paperwork after the class, I heard a woman's voice say "Is that Juni's mom?"  It was not something I expected to hear at a yoga studio.  But yes, I am also Juni's mom as well as a yogini.  The woman is a mom to one of Juni's classmates. She is a mom of two who shared with me that she has been going to yoga classes for 15 years but took some time off from yoga when her two children were very young.  Now she has been going to classes again regularly for about 3 years, and started up again within a year after her second child was born.  I related to her story very much.  She is also a working mom, and I felt reassured by her example of taking time for yoga in addition to having a full-time job and two children to attend to. 

I went to the yoga class yesterday after my work day.  When I got home in the evening and began doing the routine of taking care of my children, my positive attitude was obvious to my family.  My husband told me I was "high on yoga".  I felt like I had so much more to give to my family since I had taken that hour and a half to take care of myself.  Yoga refills my soul.  It helps and heals me emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally.