I stared at the tree limbs above, exhaled, & believed: everything is going to be okay.
For over a decade, yoga has played a dynamic role in my life. From attending class during high school for physical wellness, to crying in tadasana in emotional release last year – my understanding, appreciation, & practice of yoga continuously evolves.
One benefit from yoga I experience time and time again is pause: One deep breath at the beginning of class. Holding a posture for five counts longer than I thought possible. Practicing patience as I’m instructed through 30 minutes of ground work before the standing series. Choosing balasana (child’s pose) when my body cues me to rest instead of following the sequence. Releasing, completely, in final savasana.
The gift of pause aids me to release stress, trust a process, embrace uncertainty, experience the present moment, & B R E A T H E.
Importantly, the pause I experience during practice extends beyond my yoga mat. One example of yoga’s powerful benefit to bring me pause on and off my mat occurred during finals week in graduate school.
It was the end of my first semester, & I finally made it to my last exam. An untimely fever multiplied my stress to study for a class known to fail first year students, & I could feel the toll this took on my mind & shoulders (“Hey mom, could you mail me that heating pad?”).
As I sat hunched over my notes, eyebrows scrunched together, with thoughts racing about what I would do if I failed - I realized I was no longer helping myself nor my test performance by studying. That’s when I looked to my green yoga mat gently balancing against my bookshelf.
With only 45 minutes until my exam time, I pedaled to a nearby park & laid out my mat underneath a strong tree. In a beautiful park on a beautiful day, I completed a short, guided yoga sequence.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
When I fluttered my eyes open after final savasana, I witnessed the incredible tree branches above me. Leaves gently waved in the wind to illuminate a deep blue sky above. It was one of those moments where I felt as grand as the universe yet unbelievably small at the same time. & I knew everything was going to be okay.
I received an A on my exam that afternoon. And… that is not, truly, the point.
The point was that I successfully recognized self-induced suffering (study, stress, worry). The point was that I enacted my courage to act in alignment with what I was intuitively called to (pause, move, breathe). The point was coming home to myself, & in turn discovering unwavering trust.
