I don’t go to yoga on weekends. That makes Monday morning class a little different than Tuesday through Friday classes. After two days of too much beach, too much food, and too much wine, the jaws of Bikram yoga are just aching to chomp on a rather sedentary body, fully sated with food and drink, and squeeze all those toxins out of it. The first set of standing forward bend, done immediately after back bend, is, well, something hard to describe. Bending over and touching the floor after not being in class for two days, is something akin to opening my beach chair on Saturday, clogged with sand and salt, after sitting unused for five days. Creak. Groan. (halfway open) pop. Open.
Once past that first forward bend, things start to loosen and heat up and become easier. During that first forward bend, I often ask myself why I subject myself to this on Monday morning. The answer is always obvious and the same: because Tuesday will be twice as bad and I have no interest in going down that road. Besides, if I don’t take care of my body, where will I live? It’s not like I can just go out and get new one like you can with a car or a house.
My favorite yoga teacher once said that it takes a lot to maintain our bodies. This morning I read the best description of how to do that. Finally someone summed it up in one short paragraph so it doesn’t seem like too ominous a task.
“Attention to one’s lifestyle, especially in the direction of reducing emotional tensions, a modest but regular program of daily exercise, a diet low in salt and sugar and reasonably free of fatty meats and fried foods, and plenty of good drinking water – all these are useful and indeed essential.” ~ Norman Cousins
I sometimes think I need to be reminded of the little things and just how simple they are. Life is just a series of little choices that add up to the big picture. I figure if I pay close attention to all those little choices, and make them consciously, based on the above quote, taking good care of my body and keeping emotional tensions at bay can become automatic.
And so, as another day goes by, I’m glad tomorrow is Tuesday because Tuesday’s body is much easier to deal with, and…I have written.
Additional wisdom from Tom Walsh:
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