Practicing patience
In 2021, I resolve to take time to B-R-E-A-T-H-E and s-t-r-e-t-c-h myself
I'm not much on making, or shall we say keeping, new year's resolutions. The last one I made was to change my earrings more often, and I failed that simple pledge.
But this year, I accepted an invitation for a 30-day online yoga journey (www. yogawithadriene.com/ breath). I completed my 10th “practice” today, so I'm well on my way to keeping this resolution.
I like that word “practice,” because I'm far from adept at yoga.
My “yogi” is a precious young woman named Adriene, nearly three decades my junior, who can contort and hold her lovely body in innumerable poses.
It'd be hysterical if someone had photographed me alongside her on day one. I didn't come close to sitting on my heels or hopping to the top of the mat like she. Trying to hold a plank was killing my wrists, until I realized that I had the option of half-planks (think girl push-ups); and three-quarters through the video, I admittedly paused the streaming to see “how much longer?”
Benji, Adriene's 6-year-old blue heeler, is a nice distraction. When the sweet-faced pooch isn't obstructing his mistress' executions, he's adoringly languishing nearby on his own mat.
A lifelong runner, I'm struggling with yoga — a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated thousands of years ago in ancient India.
I'm used to rushing, as fast as I can, through road races or jogs. And, I likely don't take enough time to internalize my daily Upper Room Methodist devotionals.
That's the beauty of yoga. You're held captive for the duration of the practice and hopefully, fully present — freeing your mind to unplug from all things and plug into yourself and something bigger than yourself.
I, in the first few days, learned it's better to close my eyes than cast them downward. If I choose the latter, I undoubtedly spot a stain on the rug, smudge on a glass, or something else unimportant jockeying for my attention.
According to Johns Hopkins University, yoga has a wealth of health benefits, including improving strength, balance and flexibility; relieving back pain and easing arthritis symptoms; improving heart health and sleep; managing stress; and bringing energy and brighter moods.
Bring it on — especially in the wake of domestic terrorists storming our capitol. Last week, one of my friends on Facebook apologized to another friend for being distracted on Wednesday. The friend chastised her for not being more clued into the events in D.C., to which my friend responded that that day she had more important things on her mind; namely laying to rest her beloved aunt who died from COVID-19.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of yoga is training adopters to be nonjudgmental, including about their own thoughts, and to be more conscious of their responses to their observations … before they react.
Don't hate. Meditate. Be great.
That's the mantra I, for one, am bringing into 2021. I invite you to join me.
Namaste.