Monday, July 11, 2016

I Know What It Is To Practice

I know what it is to grieve in a practice
to prepare for new life in a practice
to let go in a practice
to build again in a practice
to recover in a practice
to be inspired in a practice
to resist in a practice
to be distracted in a practice
to be curious in a practice
to sit in pain in a practice
to sit in luxury in a practice
to be completely absorbed in a practice
to be in love when I practice
I know what it is to be broken and made whole again in a practice
I know what it is to be free in a practice




And then I know what it is to do all of these things as a person, a woman, an adult, a mother, a lover, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a citizen, a driver, an ally, an opponent, a stranger, and as all the other ways I am in my life.

And I have sweated, injured myself, healed myself, lost weight, gained weight, gotten limber, gotten stiff, ended with my heart pounding, ended with my body still cold. And sometimes it's like gardening where you planted a seed and three years later you see this thing maturing in ways you didn't expect. And in each practice I am home in myself; I am where I need to be, and everything that has happened, is happening, will happen is in its right place.

There's nothing to achieve. It's about taking my time, inhabiting my body, embodying my life. Sometimes it's glorious and wonderful, other times plain as toast, and then other times a terrible mess, and then everything else too. What's wonderful about it is that I can explore and give something to myself that no one else can when I practice yoga.