Unexpected Question

Celebrating the Micro 🎉

Last week’s letter about Glimmers brought in so much feedback and fun conversation. Thank you! 🙏🏽

It’s great having a word that encapsulates an entire concept. I think this simple shift, celebrating micro moments of joy, results in all kinds of benefits.

Gratitude to the glimmer-gathering Rhoda Lewis for capturing these moments from our stormy Saturday morning. Her photo blog is a glimmer in my life, and you can subscribe here. ​

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"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”
~ Helen Keller

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The Thread of Yoga
The Fabric of my Life

Hello, beauties!

The days are whizzing by and are packed with teaching, friends from near and far, a giant painting project (more on that in future letters, but please. If you are considering  the privilege of owning a really old boat AND a super old house at the same time? Talk to me, first! 🤣) and oh-so-much more.

Amidst the swirl, someone I did not know walked right up to me and said (with more than a little attitude), “I just don’t understand yoga.”

I’ll admit. My chin probably dropped. I’m sure I initially looked a bit flummoxed.
But, I paused and gathered myself and softened into listening.
I asked him what he was curious about? Or, what he would like to know?

He said that yoga seemed like stretching, but he heard me talking about things other than muscles and flexibility. 😳

He told me my answer could be as long as it took his wife, who was about 20 yards away, to get back to the deck where we were standing. 🥺

This moment was challenging, and a little uncomfortable for me, but I assumed he was also uncomfortable, I figured since he had the courage to ask, I should try and reach him. Right where he was. Hopefully I could plant a positive seed about what yoga is, and can be, for everyone.

Honestly? I don’t remember precisely what I said. I know, in my slightly flustered state, I did my best to alleviate any fears and encourage an open mind in the short time I had.

This conversation got me thinking about some of the funny things that have  happened for me as a yoga teacher. The strange settings for class, the unexpected conversations, the unusual questions, the ongoing list of assumptions. I have some pretty funny stories. Maybe I’ll write some newsletters that read more like a blooper reel? 😆

Overall though? Leading yoga classes has never felt better. I love it more this summer than ever before. This week’s class at our welcoming local studio, Satya, had some magic built in. Half the class were regulars, the other half visitors . . . everyone dropped in with full commitment to the shifts and the openings. The community energy lifted us all.

The nearly record-breaking class sizes recently on the deck at Lakeshore Resort? Always memorable.

I have yet to mention the deck of honey locust trees where a few dear friends gather and practice. None of us wanted to move, or leave, after our most recent session.

And then there’s the gorgeous lawn where I meet my friends twice a week. I have been practicing with these women every Wednesday and Friday since . . . 2016? Amazing! There’s so much love built into every class simply because of the consistency of the group. What a gift.

Unfortunately, I did not have the time, nor the composure to tell the gentleman, yoga is the beautiful thread that weaves the fabric of my life:

• It’s foundational because it grounds and supports me
• It’s uplifting because it helps me elevate and rise above
• It’s sustaining because it serves me in moments of challenge and difficulty
  
  

Yoga is what builds my community and serves as my connection.
Connection to others and to my highest, best self.

Thank you, my yogi friends, for being part of my foundation. For lifting me up. For helping me soar.

♥️,
~m