Love

Practicing yoga often feels like love to me. It feels like an offering of love to myself, those I love, and the world around me.

This morning I attended Jami Larson's yoga class at Flow Yoga in Salt Lake City. It always amazes me how a yoga class seems to give you exactly what you need. Do we tune in to what is true for us?

This past fall I realized I had been avoiding pinchamayurasana. Guess what? It started showing up in almost every class I attended. It actually started to make me laugh. Now that I've stopped avoiding it I am more comfortable with it presenting itself. I've even started practicing it at home.

Today, before class, I was feeling lonely. I was really craving love. I arrived at class, unrolled my mat, and took a seat.

As class began I remembered that my practice was an act of loving myself. And now, I have more love for others.

Practice

I am currently fascinated by the concept of 'practice.' Anything that we want to improve in our life requires practice. This could be a sport like skiing or running. It could be a skill like writing or website development. Or, it could be communicating with our partner.

For me, practice involves commitment and discipline. I may not practice every day on the skills I want to improve, but I do make a commitment to incorporate the 'practice' into my life with some consistency.

This has been particularly relevent for me in my yoga practice. Whether it is on my own or with other teachers, I practice. I recognize that if I continue to stay committed to yoga the practice is one that will continue for the rest of my life. The more I learn, the more it grows.

I can't always visually see the benefits of my practice (so many of them happen inside). What I can see is my tattered yoga mat. My yoga mat reflects back to me the commitment, the discipline of my practice in the evidence of wear. Instead of being frustrated that it is wearing out, I feel proud. Proud of my commitment. Proud of the discipline it takes to show up with consistency. Proud of my practice that continues to grow with practice.