So my workout schedule is a bit of a moving target right now. It has been all summer. And it might remain that way even once the school year has begun. And, oddly enough for this type A girl, I feel just fine with that!
This schedule only has a couple of "non-negotiables" - swimming on W and F at Circle C with Chrissie as coach and my lane and pool mates there. Really don't want to give that up before I have to! So, this means that I get to play around with the other days. Trying to do yoga 1-2 a week (1 day of bikram and 1 of Yoga Vida), swimming twice a week, Body Pump 1-2 times a week, running 1-2 times a week, walking as often as I can in the evenings... And throwing in a spin class every now and again. See...options. LOVE IT. And because of this, I went to a yoga class on Sunday afternoon that I need to keep near the top of my "favorite workouts to go to" list. The 5:30-6:30 class with Dean at Yoga Vida yesterday was awesome. He opened with a quotation about crying. I know. It sounds like a weird place to start and I've searched high and low for the full quotation from Stephen Cope's book Yoga and the Quest for True Self, but I can't find it - so I'll do my best to quote it here. The idea was that when we cry, we need to just really let it all out. Not hold back. Soak the pillow case that we're crying into...for on the other side of that last tear is happiness.
I loved this image. Maybe because I'm sometimes a "stuffer" of my feelings. I "hold it all together" rather than letting it all out. Or I let a little bit out but never a full-fledged meltdown. And I wonder how many times I've pushed happiness to the back-burner by doing this.
Dean went on for the rest of class and as we moved into each pose and listened to our bodies he encouraged us to let the parts cry out in pain or maybe even joy...and then, encouraged us to sit there long enough to let the "tears" become smiles. And you know what? In most poses it worked. Okay, not in all of them. I'm not sure my "tears" in pigeon or frog will becomes smiles in this lifetime, but I could at least display a look of serenity rather than a grimace.
Don't worry, I don't think I'll become a blubbering fool any time soon. Although those of you who know me well know that I do love a good cry! But I am going to keep in my mind that on the other side of that last tear is happiness, so I might let a few more tears flow instead of turning the faucet off prematurely.
With gratitude for moving targets of workout schedules that put me in classes that I've never been to that offer unexpected riches...
P.S. We also did partner work in this class - which I thought I would HATE since I didn't know anyone and yoga is sort of personal thing for me. But I ended up thinking it was okay. And, yes, my floor bow is a TON better when someone is urging me to kick harder and pull my shoulders back more... Yet again, going to new places - both physically and mentally - in yoga class.
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