Spontaneous.

I find myself in an actual yoga class AT an actual yoga studio this week and the teacher says the word "spontaneous".

How fitting to this practice as I spontaneously checked the studio schedule and spontaneously got to the class. I didn't think I'd make it (my yoga mat was tucked in my trunk just in case!)

This is my first class in a studio in probably a year. WHY? Because I'll admit, my yoga practice has not been spontaneous but well scheduled to make it fit into a busy life. It's like the adage, if it's not scheduled, it does not get done!

So, it was very fitting for me that at the beginning of practice, she spoke of a word that reflected so much of what being there really meant!

Spontaneous also had another meaning in the class this week...not for me but for the teacher. She said something like this to me after class (this is our first meeting), "Boy what a class. I'm a much better yoga teacher than that".

I felt a bit sorry for her. What I haven't mention was that there was nine other moms and babies in the room. And as always, in a postnatal class, babies will cry and moms need to be spontaneous. We need to address our babies' wants and needs in that moment. And what I think the teacher feared was that she too needed to be spontaneous with her asana selections based on who was holding a baby, how many babies were fussy, where babies were positioned on the mats etc., etc.

How much of our yoga practice is spontaneous? How much of our lives are spontaneous?

Come to think of it, there is a piece of my yoga practice and life that has become quite spontaneous. Before kids, it was always Friday after work practice that was my yoga. Now with two kids, I get it done when it gets done...kinda harsh but true.

Planned or spontaneous, what is better? I know planned is more my style. Yet, my thought is a balance of both is probably the best.

And to keep things planned, I'm going to go to class again next week!
LW

I woke up early one day this week and thought, what shall I do with myself? I know, yoga is on the hit list, so I better get at it! A little practice time before the house wakes up.

The morning air was seeping into the open windows of my bedroom (which we forgot to close the night before) and it was calling for some sun salutations. I headed into my practice.

Initially, I was only looking for some physical benefits of practice, but I actually gained some mental/emotional benefit that I never would have expected!

Let me back track...

My parents are moving out of my childhood home. Mixed emotions about this as I venture home to Saskatchewan for my last visit. What parts of this home are still pulling me in? Why am I so attached to a brick and mortar place?

There are very fond memories but also a sense of comfort in this place. Fast forward to this week's quick morning practice and I realize one of the things I love about my childhood house.

It is all the birds chirping! 

And in this week's quick morning practice, that's what I heard outside of my OWN window!

Why I never thought to recreate the morning sounds of my childhood house in my current home is beyond me! I just needed to LISTEN for them (and open my windows from time to time!)

This week's practice gave me insight into things that give me comfort. What a great perspective and in some ways, closure to the connection to my childhood home.

How did I not hear the birds!
LW