Missed the rest of this series? Catch up here:
A Personal Revolution, Off The Mat
A Personal Revolution, Part II
That first practice of the Baron Baptiste workshop ended up being somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 to 3.5 hours and having the realization that I was allowing others to steal my energy was remarkable. The thing about that is, it isn’t something done intentionally, it is something I was allowing to happen both on and off the mat. I pondered on this a we sat in a circle scarfing down lunch and waiting in line for a restroom. We only had a fifty minute break which wasn’t really enough time but I came back feeling strong and ready to face whatever Baron might throw our way.
We started in child’s pose and flowed fast through what felt like every yoga pose known on earth for another 3.5 hours. I don’t remember many details but I remember the way I felt. I was strong, alive and connected to my innermost self. I was there, living in those moments and soaking in all of the incredible energy. I was focusing on my practice, my journey, my happiness and it made a world of difference. I was strong but I was also humble. I remember dropping to my knees and coming into child’s pose more than I would ever care to admit. I dug as deep as I could for energy I never knew I had and then rested when my body told me to. I honored my body and pushed my ego aside, a struggle I face both on and off the mat.
In the last hour of so of the class, I was exhausted and felt as if I was on the verge of crumbling. I didn’t know where I would find the energy to go on. I was drenched in sweat and every cell in my body was calling out to me. We were doing what I call wheel push ups, you know, where you flow between full wheel and wheel only to the crown of the head?Yeah, that, and for crazy amounts of time. We were holding full wheel for what felt like 10 minutes and on the fifth or sixth round, I thought I might crumble into a pile of mush on my mat. He cued for us to come up again and I had the most surreal moment I have ever had in yoga.
I dug to the bottom of my soul and then dug a little more. I didn’t think I had it in me but I pushed up. There I am, in wheel, drenched to my core and I see Baron Baptiste standing with one foot on my yoga mat and the other on my block. He was dripping sweat everywhere and I couldn’t believe it. I was in wheel, with Baron Baptiste dripping sweat all over me, my yoga mat and my block. Who was I and how did get there? I was living my dream.
At the end of the class, we rested in savasana for a long time. There was this deep, dark song playing and my emotions came bursting out at the seams. Tears started flooding my eyes and blending with the sweat on my face and mat. I had no idea what I was feeling and why I was crying but knew that whatever it was, releasing it felt right. I was coming into my personal revolution.
Stay tuned for my final thoughts
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