If you know me, you know how much I love yoga. I’ve been going to yoga classes in one form or another for nearly ten years now, more or less. But in the last year I’ve been a lot more focused, and have been attending a weekly class with a very small group of other women. Our small, close-knit class is referred to as "Weekday Mom’s Yoga" and is usually punctuated by chit-chat and laughter. It’s been a transformative experience for me, being in this little, friendly, safe and nurturing environment, and has encouraged me to branch out and begin a home yoga practice. The home yoga practice is the ultimate goal of any aspiring yogi; the idea is that the classes are there as a weekly fine-tune of your technique and alignment, but the majority of your yoga practice takes place the other six days of the week.
So there I am, every day, flowing through a series of sun salutations and other poses, usually in my bedroom. It brings me a sense of serenity and balance, and is an invigorating way to get the blood flowing at the start of the day or to soothe out the kinks and calm the mind before sleep.
But now that the warm spring weather is here, I’ve been able to take my yoga practice outdoors from time-to-time. The weekend before last I was away on a retreat with a bunch of other women – one of those girls-only, self-directed, no-pressure, relaxing kind of weekends. And I decided that when I woke up in the morning I would put in 20 minutes of yoga on the deck. There I was, stretching, focusing, feeling the energy rush through my body and I enjoyed a whole new yoga experience…it’s wonderfully restorative just to focus inwards for a period of time while waking up your body, but it’s even more spiritually rejuvenating to do it while presented with a view of the sparkling bow river, the freshly green tops of trees, jubilant birdsong and the rushing of the wind through the aspens.
That experience inspired me to try my yoga practice on my own deck at home. And yesterday I walked my sister through a few sun salutations and some stretching in a rare moment of warmth and sunshine (it’s been cold and rainy here in Calgary the last week or so). And there it was again…arching up in cobra pose, my gaze was filled with bluebird sky, fluffy white clouds and apple blossoms. Ahhh…all I can say is…
…OM.
That tree is GORGEOUS! My husband wants us to start practicing yoga together…
Thanks for the Yoga tips, Kath! I definitely feel the benefits of this type of ritual. If only I could get my over active brain to SLOW DOWN!!
Btw, you are the bendiest person I know. You are a Yoga natural. One day, you will be an instructor. I just know it.
I’m still working on the initial poses in the confines of my own bedroom but since it is impossible to stretch out anywhere in my home and not hit something, I may find a hidden little spot in the backyard to try out a few salutations myself. Love your blossoms!