Christmas eve was always torturous. Flopped on the floor in front of the pile of presents, longing to know what was inside. The torture was bitter sweet. It was lovely to know that the morning would come. It would be a long night of tossing and turning, cursing and waiting for dawn.
Of course morning came and so would the sugar high from the cookies Santa left. So would the paper cuts, the hugs, the kisses, the cleanup, the thank-you’s and the disappointment for the presents longed for but missed. If only Santa had remembered that go-kart, it would have been perfect.
Yes, metaphors run (or at times, ruin) my life.
Yoga at Namaspa offered a new joy for me. For the first time, I could touch my fingers flat on the floor without bending my knees. I’ve not been able to do this since I was a teenager!
As I was waiting for class, I felt particularly limber and strong. The gentleman next to me appeared to be new and maybe apprehensive. I gave him a smile and closed my eyes to clear my mind making room for my practice.
As I reclined in child’s pose, I thought to myself. “This man is new to this. He is here, as am I. I am happy we are here together and thankful that people come to this practice.” I was actually reciting my own reality about people not caring about banana-seated-sissy-bar-stick-shifted status symbols. I was authentically happy to share the time together.
From that moment on, I was smiling like a simpleton. Just smiling and sweating, almost giggling with the fact that my yoga transformation was taking hold. After two weeks, I was stronger, leaner, more flexible and seriously bitten by yoga.
The class was full of all types, men, women, all ages, all levels of ability and experience. For the first time, I was not the least experienced or least flexible. I was somewhere near the middle, albeit towards the backside of the middle. For me, this was a magnificent accomplishment that kept me a smiling buffoon through the entire class.
I sweat like a racehorse and blew sweat off my nose as it dripped from the tip. And I was smiling. I did the extra push-ups and all the sit-ups, although I had to modify the legs-off-the-floor situps. And I was smiling. I went deeper into stretches than I had been before, by quite a bit. And I was smiling. I did bridge pose AND wheel pose. And I was smiling. Actually, I couldn’t smile when I did Lions Breath pose… I almost gagged with my head cocked back that far. We all have our limits.
In savasana, I kept on smiling and thought to myself. ‘Yoga has changed my life in two weeks. I have 50 more weeks to go.’
This is my new Christmas. I am thrilled for the process. I am thrilled for the results. I am thrilled for the relationships. I am thrilled for the sweat. I am thrilled for the inner changes. I am thrilled for morning to come.
Each day brings me new gifts.
Namaste-