Wide Open Spaces

Thanks to everyone for your supportive and encouraging words about giving up my race. I am in awe of how wonderful my readers are. In the grand scheme of things a marathon is really nothing at all, but you all understand what it meant to me.  My running people get it. Thank you ALL. :)


Now that I have taken running out of the equation I have no schedule whatsoever.  All of the time I filled with running has become vacant space and I have to decide in which way to fill it.  Luckily, I don't have a TV so it won't be clogged with reality shows (although sometimes that sounds quite nice.)

With this newfound time I was able to drop into a yoga class I have never taken.  It was a last minute decision but there was still one small spot left upon my arrival.  As I rolled out my mat I looked to my right and it was none other than my favorite teacher, Zoe.  She was a student today.  We exchanged hellos and a smile.  I felt a bit nervous having her next to me but it only took a moment to realize she was too enveloped in her own practice to notice my own.

I don’t usually take Hatha classes and I mistakenly assumed Hatha meant slow and easy. Within 20 minutes of this level II class I had sweat dripping between my boobs.  Mind you, this was not a heated class.  The instructor was amazing, providing verbal cues I could easily visualize. She gave a short yoga philosophy lesson at the start and spoke about studentship.  She taught without music which I hadn’t noticed until class ended.  I was engaged and my body was working hard to maintain unfamiliar poses.

At the start of class we were to set an intention and keep someone or something in mind.  As I flashed through the people in my life I realized everyone is doing well.  This made me smile. I shifted my focus then to the animals.  The billions of animals out there that will never be named, loved or given a chance in this world.  I dedicated my practice to them.

When everyone in class sets an intention and practices with that in mind, I swear you can feel the energy in the room.  We treat each posture a bit differently and are less conservative with our movements.  It’s a beautiful thing.  Seeing Zoe next to me as my classmate, practicing quietly and intently rather than instructing was humbling. We held each other’s ankles in support of a challenging one legged pose.  We pressed one another’s shoulders down as we twisted our low backs. She was practicing with some intention unknown to me, but equally as powerful as my own.

Kathryn Budig - beautiful.

i don't look like this when i practice, but this

is how i feel.  free.

This class was transformative. I often say this about yoga and I mean it every time. This particular practice reinforced a few principles I feel are important.  One of these is that we are all teachers and students simultaneously, here to serve one another. Learning from one another while offering up our own experience and understanding.  I often think of myself as just a student in this life but we all have something to give.  Awesome, right?


I realized that when we let go of something it often opens up space for something new; whether that be a lesson, an experience or even a new person. This is why letting go is so difficult in the moment but all right in the end.  Saying good-bye to one thing makes room for something beautiful to enter and enrich our lives.  Maybe that something is actually nothing, like rest and relaxation.  Either way, loss often leads to gain.

Have you ever let go of something to later realize you gained something even better in the end?