I overslept today. I don’t sleep with an alarm and most days, I faithfully rise around 5:30 but some days, my trusty internal alarm fails me. I slept until around 6:15 which is far too late to get in a morning yoga practice. I did still stick to my guns and read day four of Meditations from the Mat
I thought it was ironic because of the pride I felt yesterday for doing it anyway. And to make matters even further ironic, the message of the day. The lesson, for me, today was that yoga is my canoe, the waters represent life with the shore signifying old patterns. Reminded me of the lesson I learned in group therapy just over one year ago, the log and the shore. In that story, the shore represents living healthfully and without the crutch of our log aka ED. Despite the differences in the two stories, they mean the same thing to me.
Whether it is a log or the shore, I know what my old patterns are. And as in the last line of day four
“Now go onto your mat and push off from the shore”.
I didn’t have time to step on my mat today, maybe later, but for now, my mat is life.
Don’t forget to check out how the challenge is going for Jenny!
What about you? Do you hold onto to old patterns? Do you have a canoe to help navigate the waters of life?
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p.s. a batch of my triple chocolate cookies are up for bit at The Chic Life Bake Sale for Haiti. Go. Bid.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
oh, i wish i could navigate life, but sadly, no. i just try to go with whatever’s handed to me and make sure i do the best i can with it!
Heather (Heather’s Dish)´s last blog ..Love Letter to My Husband
Heather, in my opinion, that IS navigating life! Sink or swim. For me, for years, I left myself be trampled by life and indulged in bad behaviors just to get by. Now, I just do my best and I try not to get caught up in those destructive patterns and behaviors.
I think that yoga has taught me to let my breath carry me through life. There is no situation in life in which denying my body oxygen is actually helpful, yet breathing shallowly or holding my breath seems to be my body’s natural response to stress. Learning to maintain a steady breath regardless of what is happening around me is really hard, but it helps me to cultivate calm and acceptance.
Hil´s last blog ..Sabse Borani
I would say I have a canoe, but I’m subject to waves in the water like anyone else.
I’m jealous of your internal body clock – mine is broken. I need an hour’s worth of snooze-hitting to get out of bed in the AM!
Elizabeth (The Dallas Celiac)´s last blog ..Flaxseed Fail
I can relate so much to this. I used to clean to old/unhealthy patterns, now I am able to recognize when I about to start leaning on that crutch and reach out to someone. Just the simple act of talking to someone about what I’m feeling or thinking symbolizes a “shore” for me.
Jenny´s last blog ..Trust
I love that. What a great way of looking at yoga for sure.
Michelle@Eatingjourney´s last blog ..Fitness Goals: Need Advice
I love yoga, the lessons you learn from practicing the art are so important. I always seem to realize something new about my life during almost every yoga session….haha strange. My canoe is remember how it felt during those old patterns, and I compare my life now as opposed to then and see how much happier I am!
i love watching your path. you’re connecting so intrinsically (that’s the wrong word, but i can’t think of the word i mean. i’m very jet-lagged.)
writing is my canoe. if i sit at my computer and tap away, i usually find some grounding. therapy is a canoe too. daydreaming and reading take me away, so they’re less grounding, but they do center me in their own ways.