Acceptance

It’s the unfolding process of acceptance that will transform you. Doing fancy poses like handstand or the splits won’t make you a nicer person :)

Acceptance is hard. We want to do the fancy poses :) But as you read further, you’ll be reminded of the more powerful undercurrents of yoga. I miss you guys so much! Now, almost 4 months since we’ve been in the studio together, I’m sad that there is no clear path moving forward. I hope you’ll continue to practice yoga in any location and capacity you can. And I will treasure the return of live classes together.

We want to practice at a level that is sustainable and doesn’t deplete us. In this way we practice ahimsa, non-violence. If we push too hard, we dilute the benefit of the asana. This is not calisthenics; we came to do yoga. And yoga is not just physical. It supports your emotional health and your intentions for how you want to be in the world.

Being in your body and breath and heart develops: stick-to-it-iveness, patience, focus, self-acceptance, joy, might, balance, and maybe even humor! What do you need to call on to do Warrior 3 pose? It might be the same question you ask yourself …. “what do I need to call on do DO life”?

And when you say you want to do “side crow”, maybe what you really want to experience is: fearlessness, trust, determination, courage or gratitude.

Our peak pose was side crow. We started our asana practice in downward facing dog as a way to celebrate our embodiment. We deepened into our practice with balance and core. We vinyasa-ed through salutations and standing poses. We stretched and strengthened quads. This led us to the always playful, always challenging side crow. Yogis dug deep into this compact twisting arm balance.

Throughout class, I reminded students to think about what they wanted to “call on” to support them in the poses. Students shared that they called on perseverance, confidence and humor! Thank you. It was an honor to guide you in your practice. We closed with Namaste, a final gesture of gratitude and respect. Stay safe and healthy, Lynn