Spending Time on the Mat

Triathlon training is great for keeping you balanced, right?  Three different disciplines that work almost every part of your body, at least 6 days a week.  The one thing I really missed through triathlon training and the tri season, because I just didn't have time, was yoga.  I've been doing yoga off and on for a couple of years, having come to it first when I needed some nourishment, body and soul.  After sporadic practice, I had the luck of beginning the new year as the "guinea pig" student for a dear friend finishing her yoga teacher training (check out her website here:  www.yogashae.com).  She helped me find a deeper connection in my practice than I had experienced since the first couple classes I ever took.  After my "guinea pig" months, I went to a few classes at different local studios before plunging into tri training, effectively curtailing my yoga practice until my tri was over.

Sunday morning found me at my local LuluLemon store for Sunday karma yoga, taught by my same yoga teacher friend.  Putting on my yoga clothes, rolling out my mat and towel, preparing for class...it all felt great.  I was reminded quickly why I love yoga, and found myself longing for the scent of incense, the stacks of blocks, the warm, dense air of the studio.  All of those things have come to mean peace to me.  As an extension, my mat, my place on the mat and everything it entails also means a great deal to me.  It was a great reminder to find that place again, that  place of peace and grace.  It encourages me to keep up with my practice, and to find my happy yoga place again.  The sore muscles I have this morning in my shoulders, back and arms were also a great reminder of the places I have neglected to train!