Turning point

The past week has not been fun at all. No major crises or tragedies, mind you, but still, I have been stuck in a rut physically, mentally, and emotionally (very possibly due to be overly hormone-ly).

So finding inspiration to today's class was not too easy. I sat down and went through a number of Yoga Journal newletters that I receive as e-mails. I finally started putting them in their own map since I usually thought to myself that I would read them once I got around to it...say no more. Today I was starting to feel desperate. It would be my last class before taking a break for the summer, so I wanted it to be good.

I looked at different topics: "Presence through pain", "Find freedom from resistance", "Bouncing back", before I decided upon "Say grace". I was reminded about how I through my own selfish expectations take way too much for granted and fall into the trap of feeling frustrated when faced with disappointment. I found even more wisdom as I read the editorial to this month's Yoga Journal where the editor pondered the question of why we wait until tragedy strikes before we show how much we love each other? Why do we persist in waiting until we feel "safe" enough and confident enough about how the receiving part feels in return before we dare open our hearts? Good questions that hit me at home.

So this became the root of today's theme. It would be "give and take". Show gratitude for your gifts, however small they may be. During my own practice, I found myself at times being thankful just for being done with a challenging posture! In return we were to open our hearts with the symbolic "favorite drinks" arm position, which goes like this: Stand with your elbows bent, palms facing up, and your overarms close your sides. Now, pretend that you have two trays filled with glasses of your favorite drinks that you are about serve to your favorite people. What do you do? Rotate your arms outward and voilá - Favorite drinks! Incorporating this in Chatarunga dandasana (deep plank) and backbends is magic for your thoracic back and the ultimate protection for your shoulders.

It was fun, challenging, exhausting, and energizing. Just what I needed. My turn to say grace.