Six Days a Week...

I must say that I feel my practice has already progressed. I don’t, however, know if it strictly a change in my intention, or physical development as well. Intention is such a catch phrase in much of the yoga literature that I have read. “Be in the moment” “Focus on the now”. Well yeah, I sure do feel in the moment when my thighs are burning in Virabatrasana A and B. Figuring out how to “stay in the moment” and continuously focus on breath, bandas, and alignment is where the difficulty lies. I do feel, however, that the commitment that I have made has certainly made me more aware of my intention. I come to the mat with much more presence in the current moment rather than dwelling on what I haven’t been able to do in the past and what I’ll likely not be able to do today. I also seem to be more aware of subtleties during my practice. I am improving on my ability of self-observation and the ability to translate that into adjusting my postures. Rotating this and extending that is starting to make much more sense to me. If I could just remember to breathe! It is fairly exciting to report that last night I was able to lift up off the floor (briefly) for this first time in Utplutih. And what do you know, it must not have been a fluke as I was able to do it today as well. I am starting to celebrate each of these small victories.
I have received many words of encouragement over the past week and remain touched that so many people support me on this journey. The community that has grown at City Yoga is full of many caring, encouraging and supportive people. Knowing that I have a silent cheering section beside me during my practice keeps me motivated on those early, early mornings. Many of those people have also said the same thing to me, “Don’t be surprised if you get more out of this experience than you expect”. I already feel that I have and I can’t wait to see what more is in store for me. I look forward to sharing my experience with all of you and returning the favor of support.