I love Founder’s yoga. For those in the know, I have perfected my plank, tree (I do oak tree with eyes closed, both feet on the ground and my arms at my sides), and a few of the warriors. And now that I have been “practicing” for several months, I am beginning to see the inner meaning of “savasana” – a yoga word meaning “lie around on the mat and try not to fall asleep while you consider your fate.” (It’s not as easy as it sounds, the considering your fate part).  You can always tell the rookies in class because they keep saying, “bless you or gesundheit” every time someone says “savasana”, easy mistake really.

We practice here in Nelson at Founder’s Park, a small cluster of buildings from the mid-1800s. Our room is in the old town meeting hall and, now that winter is upon us, it’s cold and dark most Wednesday mornings when we arrive. The class is small and intimate, under a dozen or so students, all of us with varying levels of expertise.

There is something about committing to the practice week-in and week-out that is meaningful: something about showing up on cold rainy days as well as nice sunny ones. And having others there to greet you with a smile and conversation. Something about all being in the same boat, trying to work out whatever drove you to show up. Its not discussed but there is a reason people agree to put their bodies in such wild and whacky positions all in the name of “deep, focused breathing” and “maximizing flow”. I so look forward to it every week.

The other day Rosalinde, our yoga teacher, said in passing, “Sometimes, when we practice, it is hard to stay in the moment and not think about what is coming up next, remember to breathe (pause). Yoga is about being in the moment, not the before or after.” Holy moly: seriously, that is very profound when you stop to think about it and coming from way, way, way out of the blue, and oh, so simple. My mind races and I feel like I might explode: Yoga = Life = Yoga.

That one little comment sparked a major breakthrough. Clearly my “flow” was maximized and I was “open” to understanding. In a flash, I attained a deeper insight, not just into my “inverted pigeon” pose, into of my life overall. Phew, very intense for a rainy Wednesday morning.

You see I am struggling with re-entry. We need to come back into the fold and return home and honestly I don’t want to. And I have come to realize that dwelling on the future has been clouding my present. Something two and half months down the road is impacting my day-to-day, and not in a good way. Then and there, lying on the mat, I decided to come back into the moment, to enjoy the two and half months remaining, and to find a new way to deal with re-entry. I told you that considering your fate thing is tough. It seems Life = Yoga = Life

If you live in Nelson come out on Wednesday mornings and join us over at Founder’s. And wherever you are remember to live in the moment, not before or after.

– Namaste