Dancer

In terms of my own personal yoga practice, I’ve always been a little proud of myself during the balancing sequence.

*Insert hand-slap here for talking about pride in a yoga class, but come on – we enjoy doing things we’re “good” at, right?*

At least in CorePower Yoga’s balancing series in the C1 sequence, for instance.  I can hold eagle pose long enough because I can mentally build the pieces that it takes to find alignment.  It makes logical sense – work towards the midline, the invisible line of energy from the crown of your head through your wrists, elbows, knees, and the four corners of your feet.  I got that.

Tree pose?  My favorite.  I always thought it symbolized something, that this one came somewhat naturally and even felt stable, strong, and comfortable.

And then there’s dancer pose.  I could balance for days on one foot in tree pose, but can barely establish a foundation in dancer before I’m wobbling like a baby giraffe in stilettos.

We can all wax yoga-philosophical on how maybe I can find balance and stability in strength, but struggle with the openness that comes with the dancer pose – arm outstretched in front, hips open and receiving, heart turned towards the sky.  It’s a strong pose, but the process of getting there is a vulnerable one.

I consider myself a pretty open person in terms of sharing pieces of my self, my heart, my spirit with those around me – ask me anything, I’m an open book, I’ll tell you.

What am I not open to?

Of course, I draw parallels from the practice on my mat to my life off the mat, and I do know at least this - I’m open to the idea that there are lessons to be learned in my life that start in that 60-minute vinyasa.

These observations come off of a weekend filled with a re-commitment to my yoga practice, and a bit of restorative – albeit whimsical – indulgence in things like salon visits, new notebook splurges, and saying yes to happy hour and wine nights with good friends.  Throw those feel-good things all together in a mix, add in some beautiful Colorado spring sunshine, and while I might not be able to hold dancer pose for longer than a second or two on the mat – on Sunday, at the intersection of Pearl and Broadway, I danced.

I half-twirled, I skipped, I opened my heart towards the sunshine and I danced.

And you know what?  I’ll do it again.

Tagged as: CorePower, dancer, Yoga