yoga - beginner's mind

tonight i took a yoga class for the first time ever. it was in columbia city, where i spent just about every weekend growing up - my papa and grandma cassidy lived there -huge portions of my memory cells, all good as far as i could tell, were awakened when i parked my car and walked to the yoga studio - THERE is where papa would take me to eat burgers and he told me THAT was a jail; and if i didn't watch it, i'd end up behind those bars - papa called me bub because he thought christine was too prissy a name.

the yoga class - all cancer survivors & all dressed more appropriately than i. the instructor told me not to compare my form to theirs - too late - before the class even started, i was comparing & contrasting - and i saw that yoga clothes are NOT the same as running clothes - sports-specific clothing - my running pants wanted to roll DOWN (when running, you're not twisting your body into knots) and my tank top kept inching UP.

the class itself - the instructor said to dedicate it to some intention - and so i dedicated it to healing my heart - the instructor was so thoughtful and quiet. she took her time, but not too much, with each pose - my twitchy ferret brain actually slowed down; i could hear the breathing of the other women - the creaking of the floor in this old, old building - and instead of fighting the quiet place because i was scared it would take me to tears again, it gave my "screaming monkeys" a chance to just be still. be still and know that i am. quiet and stillness are not what i'm good at - chaos and motion are my special-tee. but the quiet and stillness were just what i needed at that moment - funny how that happens.

this is what they say at the end of class ..
namaste
christine