New Year's Eve I spent 2 hours in a room meditating to the sound of singing bowls and chimes. I was bathed in vibration and as the different sounds clashed and meshed together. It took some time to settle into a good space. In fact for the first 45 minutes I was pretty uncomfortable, but the next 75 minutes passed in what seemed like 10. It was a ending and beginning that truly resonated with me.
The next day I was back at the studio for the annual New Year celebration at the Breathe Together Yoga Studio in Los Gatos, Ca. Jenn Prugh is one of my favorite teachers and the owner/manager of Breathe Together. She offers a free New Years Day class. Jenn is one of those teachers who has the ability to push you right to the edge of your comfort zone and often way beyond it. It was a shock for me at first. I was angry, embarrassed, ashamed, and really raw about the experience she first provided me. It has taken years of yoga to finally enter her space and find the joy of yoga, but I have and I am so grateful to her for the journey.
The challenges of yoga on first entry are physical, but the essence of the practice lies in the mind and the spirit. Jenn has the ability to push you to the point you must deal with your mind and spirit or you will just live through the pain and continue to think that is the point. The practiced is steeped in opportunity for practicing Ahimsa or non-harming. This is one of the first rules of yoga and should be applied inward and outward. Jenn's class is an opportunity to find kindness for your suffering. It is an opportunity to be present with your pain and uncomfort and find the joy. But honestly for a a long time it just felt like torture.
During this New Year's Day torture session Jenn instructed us to choose a word for the practice. We should use this word with our breath to help us stay present and joyful not just during our two hour session but throughout the year. My word for 2017 is Freedom. Later in the class we partnered up and were offered the opportunity to join our neighbors word with our own. My neighbors word was Letting Go. Perfect.
The seeds are planted now to tend the soil and nurture the growth.
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