Once again the hot room has spoken. I never know which pose is going to provide a new lesson. Last night was a late night at the campfire. My husband and I sat out there until the wee hours of the morning solving the problems of the universe. That was fun, but morning comes quickly, so I decided to go to the 4 pm class today.
My day was jumbled and mixed up. Working on my new business and on my book put me in a panic mode. I walked around fearful all day. Although I got a lot done, panic and fear took root in the pit of my stomach and made for a difficult day. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to get to class. My yoga room is my island of peace.
At 3:15 I was ready and couldn’t wait until 3:30 to leave. I finally leave and oops, I forgot summer has arrived on the cape – the line of traffic on 6A was governed by a tourist going 29. It took twenty minutes to drive five miles up the road. More anxiety. Finally I arrived and stretched out in the hot room ten minutes before class.
Today it was rabbit pose that taught just the lesson I needed to ease my fears. As I’m curled over into rabbit, the teacher says this is your little bit of panic training each day. Curled over, upside down, throat choked, sweat running up your nose and into your ears – but you tell yourself you’re alright. You learn, in this 20 seconds, how to handle panic and fear. You breath and calm down and learn what to do with these overwhelming feelings. Doing this a little bit each day conditions your body to handle life’s panic and fearful moments.
I took that in and am holding onto it. The next time I have a difficult time doing something new and panic and fear take hold, I’ll remember rabbit pose. I’m okay. Breath. I’m in a safe place. I’m not in any harm. I’ll imagine myself in rabbit, waiting for the teacher to release the pose. In class, when I do that pose everyday I will pay attention to how I keep myself in it, how I feel and how I deal with those feelings, because, as Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
“The wise person in the storm prays God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within that endangers us, not the storm without.”
Oh those inner storms – such as the one that plagued me today. Tonight I’m home, showered, and the fear and panic have melted away.
And so, as another day goes by, God often uses the hot room to deal with me, and…I have written.
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