Namaste, yo.

Every once in a while there's an experience that takes me out of my routine and lets me see the big picture of what's wrong with everything in my life. The experience doesn't have to be anything dramatically huge. But the results often are.

Vacations are like this. And vacations can sometimes just be an hour long. In 2001 I got a massage that helped me realize just how insanely stressed out I actually was and that gave me the perspective I needed to make some changes.

And this past January, as part of my birthday gift to myself, I went to a yoga class. I didn't realize it at the time, but it's been life changing.

The class I chose to go to was a "restorative" yoga class on Friday evening. It is by candlelight. It doesn't have a lot of challenging poses. It's about giving back to yourself and surrendering to the universe after spending the week giving of yourself to the rest of the world.

So I went to that class around my birthday, and liked it so much that I worked out with David to handle childcare on Friday nights so I could go every week. 

After some time went buy he told me that he wanted to make sure I kept going because I was in a much better mood for the entire weekend when I could make it to yoga class on Friday night.

As the year went on I learned more about some of the philosophy of yoga -- something I hadn't really known anything about before, even though in the past I've been a regular of several different yoga classes.

I learned about the Yamas and the Niyamas. I am working my way through Rolf Gates' Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga .

I like the way Gates talks about these. His book is filled with a series of very short essays and each one begins with a quote from someone or something -- a religious text, a business book, a rock song.

It's very accessible and the concepts are served up in a way that is understandable to everyone. Each essay is a very quick read, so not overwhelming to think of reading one every day.

(I kind of wish I'd heard of Rolf Gates while I was still living in Silicon Valley, because apparently he's just over the hill in Santa Cruz. Would have been cool to go to one of his classes.)

Thanksgiving morning I went to a regular Hatha Yoga class at the yoga studio I've been frequenting. And it was great. And Friday night I did my regular restorative class. That's the first time in forever I've done a class two days in a row, and I feel restored.

So much so that it is making me step back from my crazy pace again to look at what is working in my life and what I'm doing just because it is habit. One of the yamas is called Aparigraha. In my limited understanding of it all it's about letting go of what's not needed, "non-hoarding," not coveting.  I feel like this is a big part of my mission right now -- letting go of stuff. Stuff that is cluttering my house, my brain, my schedule, my heart. Stuff I've been holding onto but not using. Instead I've been spending energy on it and being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it, and it's crowding out peace from my life. It's crowding out anything new I could invite in.

So this will be a big part of setting my intention for the new year -- Aparigraha. Eliminating clutter and simplifying. And at the same time I want to add something. More yoga. I want to start going to one more class a week. Small changes can make a big difference.

Comments

[Antropologa]

My common-law-mother-in-law does yoga something like five times a week. She's about to turn 50 and she could pass for 25. I think these things are related.