First things first: I missed class on Sunday. The soccer workout wound up being way harder on my body than anticipated. I crashed out on the couch Saturday, barely able to muster the energy to move. On Sunday, I had a whole slew of work to get finished before a holiday party we were attending, and I just ran out of time. This was totally cool with me because I knew I could make it up with a double, which I had been wanting to do anyway but hadn't found the self-motivation to do so randomly yet.
After the day off, I had a couple tough classes. Not tough in a bad way, though! They were very challenging, partly due to the instructor who is very motivating and always pushes everyone to do their absolute best and not slack off a whit. I always find myself really pushing to my ultimate limits in his classes, partially because I don't want to get called out for slacking, but also because I want to show him that I'm not a slacker, that I'm really pushing as hard as I can. In the second class, I got really dizzy in the standing series, which I think was due to improper electrolyte intake. I felt a little... stagnant, I suppose, after that second class, which brings me to the theme of this blog post:
If you are feeling uninspired, you must actively seek out inspiration. You can't just sit back and wait for inspiration to slap you in the face, you need to go searching for it. For me, this has most often taken then form of books. Autobiography of a Yogi has been a wealth of inspiration for me, especially with the spiritual side of the practice, which I really haven't gotten much into here since I'm still working it all out in my head. I also recently purchased a book on yoga anatomy that has been seriously valuable to my practice. The first chapter is all about the dynamics of breathing and it has given me such a great understanding of the physical process of taking in and expelling air. It's so much easier to control your body when you know how it works.
The new understanding of how breathing works totally pushed my practice today! I found it easier to contract my stomach muscles for chest breathing and easier to let go of tension for belly breathing. I was hyper aware of my breath in all the postures, which allowed me to go so much deeper than I normally go in several postures (namely: half moon, standing bow, the entire spine strengthening series). I used my blah feeling after yesterday's class to motivate me to crack the book open, which brought me to a great class this afternoon. Every time I have sought inspiration, I've had a breakthrough class shortly thereafter.
So, I'm going back to the studio this evening to complete the second part of my double so I'm all caught up pre-vacation. We'll be in Boston from tomorrow through Monday and I plan on practicing every day up there. If I miss a day, it's cool, cause I know I can double my way through it when I get back.
I love yoga. My life is so improved as a result of my practice and I give thanks every day for being led to find it.
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