Writing Christmas or Chanukah cards offers a time to reflect, count your blessings, and reconnect with friends and family.
A mindful yoga practice can also help to shed light on the people, situations and opportunities that have made a real difference over the past year.
On the longest day of the year, heart-warming activities like these dispel the darkness, and counteract the chill of winter.
While reflecting on the highlights of 2011, I’m grateful for the wonderful yoga teachers who serve in Seattle and nearby yoga studios.
Yesterday was an example of one teacher’s generosity, and her commitment to yoga’s teachings…
Her husband was in the hospital recovering from surgery, so she had cancelled the morning class to spend the day with him. But she had no way to notify the students who had preregistered for her class online…
She showed up at the studio to do a few sun salutations before rejoining her husband at the hospital — only to discover two students waiting outside the studio for class to begin. (I had driven half an hour in rush hour traffic to get to class on time…)
Sharing the Blessings of Yoga
So she invited us to join her in a set of sun salutations, a practice she needed to ground herself before heading to the hospital. For us it was not a class, but a yoga-centered opportunity to open our hearts, breathe deeply, and express the joy of being alive, surrounded by people we cherish.
It was a beautiful practice, a wonderful gift from a yogini very pressed for time, but willing to share her yoga practice with the two of us. A true yoga experience…
Her generosity yesterday was a reminder of the enduring gifts that yoga teachers are eager to share, with those who are ready and willing to receive them.
Namaste.