Connection For Real: Yoga with Christine at Yoga By Design in Williamstown, NY: July 8, 2016

Yoga By Design specializes in yoga "for people over 50", and I felt every bit of my 55 when I walked through the front door. It was a level one class and, as often is the case, there's a question about why I'm attending a gentle level one class. Sort of a reverse warning that the yoga will be too mellow for me.

Yet as I travel and go to so many different classes with so many different teachers, and more often than not the class 'specializes' in something or another...hot, senior, gentle, iyengar, bikram, vinyasa, strong, ashtanga, and on and on the labels go. Its useful to be sure but out there I'm just looking for some yoga so for me it really doesn't matter what kind of class it is if it fits the time I can do and a closeby location. One of the many things I've had to surrender out here is finding "my type" of yoga class. And in doing so I've found that every class is my class. There is no such thing as the opposite.

Its all yoga and we are all connected.

Today Christine offered some Feldenkreis hip openers. After doing an exercise its fairly common that teachers instruct to notice that side you just moved and compare it to your other side. And it always amazes me how simple it all can be. But today Christine went a step deeper and asked not only to 'notice the right hip verses the left" but also our shoulder, jaw, eye, areas we hadn't even touches with movement or awareness and indeed there was more room because (of course) the right hip is connected to everywhere else in the body.

I don't watch the news because if something big enough happens, I'll hear about it. And today I heard all about the terrible violent shooting in Dallas, Texas. Racism and hate are alive and all I can do to counterpose is remember that Jesus commanded us to Love Our Neighbor.

Out here on the road that's been my prime directive as I encounter thousands of people every run. What would happen if I could do my best to Love My Neighbor best I can all the time.

Its an ongoing experiment and its the hardest but certainly the most important thing I do. And I have a long way to go because I struggle like I did this morning to love my left hip which pops and aches even in the easiest yoga class I've ever taken.

And if I can't love my left hip, not matter what, how can I authentically for real love you?

Namaste