make like a tree and be

It'd been a while since I'd gone to yoga. I used to go during the evenings on weekdays. But I felt like that cut into my family time so stopped going altogether. This doesn't make much sense, I know, but trying to find a good time to fit yoga into my schedule, when busy with my new job and internship and working on our websites and my thesis, proved difficult for me; especially since I'm super sentimental and find it hard to get out of the house when I "should" be spending time with Lilly and Anne.

However, yoga really is such a good investment in my health and well-being that I should make the time for it too. Anne and I decided that Saturday mornings, after she gets back from her yoga class, would be a good time for me to go; it would be a good start to the weekend (which we like to think of as family time) and leave the rest of the day open to do things all together.

Leaving the studio last Saturday, I was feeling energized. Sure it helped that we had perfect spring weather. But my practice that morning was great. A bit stiff, yes, but great. During class the instructor said something that made me think (something he had recalled another instructor saying) which made a lot of sense and can be thought of as a good outlook in our everyday. We were just finishing tree pose when he reminded us that "a forest would be boring if all the trees were the same."

Every person is different, every practice is different. In yoga we must remind ourselves that our practice is exactly where it should be for us individually. And we must remind ourselves that our practice will change, as will the needs of our bodies. We shouldn't force a pose, but instead we work with our bodies to find the pose that fits with the abilities of our bodies and our needs during that practice.

In our daily lives we might be tempted to compare ourselves with others, and try to mold ourselves and our lives into the form of others; we might push ourselves into doing something that is not right for us at the time.

I think it's truly interesting when you consider just how different trees and plants really are, and how with every day each grows in new, totally unique ways. Think of how, for example, the plant in our kitchen window reaches for the sun; and how, if rotated in its place, it reaches for the sun in a new direction, completely changing form and the possibility of growth in the future. Or how, if trimmed and pruned, trees grow new branches. To grow and thrive, these are all living with their needs in mind, so to speak.

Something like that. We spent the rest of the day outside. Originally with the intention of working in the yard, we let ourselves relax and enjoy the spring day; the winter this year has been long and cold, keeping us like many Minnesotans indoors, waiting for better weather to get outside and re-energize ourselves. We worked a little, played a lot, went for a walk into town, and opened our porch for the afternoon. Lilly got to play on the slide next door, ride her trike, blow bubbles, and even dig around a bit in the sandbox (which was opened for the first time to dry out). She even skipped her nap and went to bed earlier than usual. Which gave mama and papa some time to re-energize in other ways.