I did it! I finally did it!
So maybe this isn’t going to sound like a big deal to some. But to me, it is.
I’ve been practicing yoga for about six years now, I believe. I lost track of how long, really. All I know is that I can’t live without it now.
But one thing I’ve always wanted to do was to do my yoga practice on my deck. But the chicken in me always won the battle every time I’d feel the impulse to want to do so.
I’d worry the neighbors would see me and think I’m nuts. Well, I am a bit nuts and rather like it that way. The older I get the more I embrace this just being me thing, which is quite liberating.
Today, a beautiful not too hot, but just right kind of morning in Wisconsin, the impulse hit me again. I could hear the chicken bawking in my head, “You’ll look silly! What if someone sees you?”
But it was time to quiet that loud, obnoxious chicken and stretch myself beyond my comfort zone.
As I rolled out my mat and placed my purple blocks at the front of the the mat, I was already beginning to feel in this new peaceful place inside. This. was. going. to. be. amazing. I was already feeling the positive effects.
And oh how it was! Many of my poses have me looking upward at some point in the pose. To see the open, blue sky with whispy clouds floating by, and the rich green of the leaves on the tree above me, it felt like the earth was wrapping itself around me saying, “Welcome home. Welcome home.”
I truly didn’t want my practice to end today. I held each pose longer than usual. I drank each one in as the peace of those moments melted down to my soul.
I thought, “This was a whisper of my heart for so long that I kept pushing away.” Here I was in this moment of finally rising to what had been calling me, those whispers that were finally answered, leaving me with a divine calm that still has me floating on a cloud two hours later as I finish writing this post. Namaste.
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You may notice on the left hand side of the photo what appears to be a dog bed and blanket. Underneath is Gidget who is practicing her own type of yoga. I posted this photo in a Facebook group I belong to earlier today and someone said: “That blanket is her yoga mat. She just prefers to be under it to achieve peaceful meditation. Serenity!” I do believe she is right!