You take it with you

Most days I do a little yoga. I may not make it to a class or teach a class but there are usually back bends over the couch while playing poker online. Getting up I lean against the wall and do 1/2 downward dog and work on my bad left shoulder. My alignment continues to improve and my body seems almost miraculous. I practice yoga, practice Thai massage on clients and keep going.

I get little aches, irritations, mental disturbances and even touches of you should do more but I keep at it. Slow and steady wins the race but over time at 34 I see myself getting better, not worse. My body changes, my responses more sharp and my nervous system quickens. I can process information more clearly, make decisions founded in logic while allowing my intuition to flow. Trying to work on marketing for Thai massage in Austin and Round Rock I find the space that feels there is integrity, ethics and financial stability. Logic and emotions in balance.

When there is no time for a yoga pose, I’m still breathing. Working with my breath I’ve just gotten used to the ebb and flow. You increase the inhale, relax the exhale, reverse…repeat ad infinitum. Like the ocean waves crashing against the beach the breath goes on forever, unceasing. In a yoga class I remind students to breathe, alignment instructions are given and I encourage the students to continue exploring their breath. How does an inhale make the pose feel different than an exhale?

Over time the rhythm is changed. The musculature is strengthened and full breaths are taken with less effort and strain. What you work on on the mat goes with you. Slowly over time and with practice your rhythm evolves. Your breathing takes you where you need to go, a place with better posture, better alignment and the ability to calm yourself consciously. Yoga doesn’t just happen on a mat. When you practice long enough you take it with you.

Breathe.