Tuesday, February 19, 2019
I have a friend whose mother is turning 83 today and she is on her way back from her first yoga retreat in Ecuador. She absolutely loved her adventure and loved her yoga experience.
She went with a group of yoga buddies and she sent her daughter a lovely note on the final day saying that she realized that she not only did yoga now because it was good for her, but because she loved how it made her feel.
If I was the publisher of the Yoga Journal, the premier yoga publication for yoga students, I would put this woman on the front page, with her other 80-year-old yoga friends. I think they are so inspiring and are good teachers about how you can do yoga your whole life.
I have always said that yoga is a practice that you can do no matter your age or ability.
There are so many styles, some that are suitable when you are in your 20s and 30s and others when you are a senior. There are practices that are designed for people who are injured or tired.
I’ve worked with so many amazing people in my 20-plus years of teaching. The people who amaze me are the people who do yoga no matter what challenging situation they have been given.
Last year I worked with an incredible young woman who was recovering from Guillain-Barre syndrome which is a rare condition when the immune system attacks your nerves. This young woman was totally paralyzed for a period of time, and then spent months in the hospital recuperating.
I got the opportunity to work with her when she came home, before she returned back to work. She inspired me every time I worked with her.
She taught me about the power of mindfulness and the breath as she worked to regain her balance, strength and flexibility. I would put her on the front cover of the Yoga Journal in a heartbeat.
And she was one of the most positive, hopeful people I’ve ever met. That is a lesson in itself.
I’ve had a “Yoga for Builders” class for 10 years. In it there are builders of houses, minds (teachers) and communities (volunteers). I love this class and I would put them on the cover of the Yoga Journal in an instant. These are hard working people who come every Wednesday evening.
It’s the middle of the week and they are usually tired and often sore and it would be easy to stay home on the couch. But they come and they work with their sore shoulders, tight hamstrings and sore backs.
And they support each other with lots of laughter. I love them. They are good, honest, hardworking people who just want to look after their bodies so they can do what they love. And they inspire me.
Yoga is not about how you look, it’s about how you feel. It’s not about which pose you are doing, but more about how you are being in the pose.
There are so many great yoga teachers in Haliburton County now. There is a great little yoga studio that opened in Minden last summer.
I am confident there is something for everyone! You’ll be the first to know when my picture gets chosen for the cover of the Yoga Journal!