Let's Begin Again... Yoga

Two days following the Oak Tree ½ Marathon, I did not expect that my legs would still feel so achy—in particular my knees. While previously I had shared my disappointment with my time, I guess given the lingering aches and pains, I can only admit that maybe I did run as fast as I could, at least in that moment, at that time.

Now that the new school year is upon me, staff reporting today, students Thursday, I find myself returning to some elements of my training that have been in (and occasionally out of) “place” for quite a while, in particular, my efforts to practice yoga…

Many years ago, during a challenging time in my life, I began practicing yoga lead totally by the guidance of video lessons, as a means of dealing with stress. Just as I had did in the past, this morning I began my reintorduction with a very brief video segment that focused on some light stretching and breathing exercises, Yoga for Meditation with Rodney Yee.

While the VHS tape contains four short sessions (Mountain, Garden, Wind and Sky), I was consciousyly nervous about the first day of work and all the neurosis that goes with it (being late, making a good impression, eteceteras) that I only completed the first 12-minute series, Moutain. I always seem to walk away from wokring through poses with a few intial reactions... 1) I am refreshed, 2) I am regretful that I could not continue to go further and more deeply, and 3) I would love to work up the courage to attend a class of some sort and practice with others... video can only take you so far...

This desire for communal practice in both my running and yoga is a thread in my life which I need to express by taking the necessary steps... and for that there may be no better time than now!

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!