The 31-day Challenge: an update

Today marks day 9. I took in Pat's class at lunch - a modest 50-minute flow class. Hips were tight today, but my breathing was more steady and regular.

Sunday morning's class was a bit of a surprise. I arrived in time for a 9:00 start, but there was, oddly, a class in ahead of us. What surprised me more was that they stayed, while we joined them. I'd never been in such a large class - 46 as opposed to the usual 20-something. We were set out 8-inches apart, practically mat-to-mat. It was hot, too, but it didn't seem hot.

The special occasion? Turns out, on the first Sunday of each month, Mark Darby from Montreal has a group of instructors in for an all-day session. We were simply fortunate enough to join them.

Boy, did I sweat. I wasn't working any harder than usual - in fact, today Pat commented on how well I had paced myself throughout Sunday's practice which was very definitely a Level 2 class. In the latter part of the class there were poses I simply had to omit, or do part of. Nevertheless, I felt like I had about four showers in the hour and a half - all from the inside out! I'd literally towel down head to toe, and was dripping wet within 5 minutes. Oddly, it wasn't a "dirty" sweat - quite clean, and cleansing. But for the first time in my life, I literally rung my shirt out at home.

I returned home for actual shower number two, followed by a third after having worked in the yard.

There was a kid next to me, he might have been 16 or so. He was struggling to keep up. It reminded me of my first class back in '07. i don't think anyone had told him the part about "make it your own practice" and "it's a practice, not a performance". At one point, Mark wandered over and said,

"Your Mom made you come, didn't she..."

We all had a little laugh and carried on. His Mom, on his left side, smiled and agreed!

Overall, I'm finding a great deal of benefit in daily yoga practice. It's helped keep my mind fresh, caused me to willingly and eagerly drink more water, and the physical benefits are making their way in as well. I hesitate to "assess" the situation physically until I've put in a full year. What I notice the most is that I'm now highly aware of my body's A-symytry and all the little things that I've left unaddressed for four decades. The urge is there, every so often, to lose myself in the frustration of "why didn't I get into this earlier?", but that's not very yogic. I'm finding myself to be far more patient with my progress - especially physically.

In drinking more water and less-to-no coffee, I've also discovered that for what seems like 'forever', I've been exhausted. Inside, outside, physically, emotionally and mentally. Looking back on my routine, it's been coffee and other stimulants like sugar and alcohol that have kept me 'artificially' awake.

Sad, really.

I didn't sleep well last night - I couldn't shut off my brain. I had 'things of tomorrow' running through my head, and now that 'tomorrow' is today and those things have passed, I'm looking forward to planning 'tomorrow', tomorrow.

Tonight, it's time for rest.

Namaste, peace.