Not the end; the beginning of a new world

This has been a very hard year for me.  Instead of sharing those details online, I'm inclined to use this space as a reminder of the many joyous adventures I've had and all the reasons I have to be truly grateful.  Photo collages of those times are soon to come.

I do have an announcement.  I have finally found yoga.  Sure, it's been posing there next to me, in my face, for years, but I never got it.  If I tried it, maybe I didn't like that one class or teacher, or because I like endurance and competition, it seemed a little too boring for my taste.  You friends have patiently showed me poses that might help a stiff leg/hip and told me about your weekly classes that you religiously attend, and I continued to bah-humbug the practice.  It just wasn't my time yet.

Then, I hurt myself at my favorite "boot camp" class at my gym and was out for a couple weeks.  No frisbee, no gym, biking to work even hurt.  Maybe more serendipitous is that a huge new yoga and meditation studio opened up just 2 blocks from my house and they were offering a 2-week trial rate with unlimited classes.  These classes are not cheap, so I got my moneys worth by doing yoga every single day for 2 weeks.  I started on Thanksgiving day, with a beautiful heart (and stomach)-opener class, that put me in a (first time ever?) grounded mood for the holiday.  In my two weeks, I got calluses on the heal of my palms from doing so many downward dogs, I got to try hot yoga, and was able to see the differences in teaching styles and practices.  I love it.

To the little guy that does a downward dog every time he wakes up!

I might also be in love with the studio; a beacon of light, it is creating community and mindfulness in a neighborhood that wants it and supports it.  I'm still figuring out how to pay for more yoga classes, but in the mean time I've been going to a (free) meditation, three times a week.  It gets me up early and starts my day on a solid foundation.  I have tried meditation before, but I wasn't in a place to listen clearly.  Today, on the solstice, we will be meditating with a group in Newtown, CT, via skype.  Like a coral reef that buffers the intensity of a storm, I think that when connected, we can absorb the shock waves of hurt and pain more easily.