Yoga Gratitude Prayer

Excerpt from my diary 26 January 2013 ~>
This morning I had the most beautiful yoga experience ever.
I determined this day I would go with my own flow,
to trust my inner Susan,
to connect with my breath and
feel my way forward.

Thinking on the Sanskrit word Ahimsa and no self harm,
no pushing myself to make up for lost time
on account of not being well for the last eight weeks,
I engaged my thoughts on gratitude for my renewed strength.
This gratitude pervaded the whole practice
that I felt deeply with each fullness of breath,
each effortless movement as my limbs easily
transitioned through the poses.

As I stretched and relaxed into each posture
spending time, breathing deeply,
an emotion of appreciation and beauty entered
and pervaded my entire Being,
rising steadily throughout until
towards the end of my time on the mat
a crescendo of tears started to flow.
I felt the most restful release.

Tears started to flow, pent up tears from the ordeal of this last few weeks, perhaps months or even years! Who knows?  But it seemed so natural and beautiful to let the tears flow, cleansing my whole Being.  With a grateful bow I finished my practice as I had started.

In all the years I have practised yoga in several forms I have never experienced anything like this, I felt totally in tune with every part of my Self.  I'm not sure whether or not I would be able to repeat this experience again, but one thing is for sure it will reside in me forever!

This I know, if I hadn't started my yoga practice years ago I would never have experienced this awesome feeling! Speaking with my yoga teacher afterwards we came to the conclusion it was not dissimilar to the state of bliss that the gurus experience through meditation practice! I can honestly say that I did ~>

find my bliss on this occasion!

In the early days when I joined yoga at my gym I had no idea what benefits were in store, I never knew how these gentle restorative movements would improve my life on many levels.  I didn't even have the proper gear then, I went in some old non-stretchy pants that pulled tight across my huge tummy when we performed spinal rocking warm-up ( lovely knees to chest rocking motion that is so good for massaging the spine/back).  Over the weeks and months my tummy started to shrink and it felt like my whole torso was becoming elongated and my limbs very much more flexible.   I had been having problems for a long time cleaning the house at low levels, a painful stiffness around the pelvic area when kneeling, this completely disappeared within the first month!

I figured, now I'm getting into my senior years, to prevent immobility I need to keep up my gentle yoga practice, and so I have! :~)  and will be passing on some of the benefits through my posts! :~)

Keep a look out :~)

As previously stated I am not an instructor, I will not enumerate poses, there is enough information in books, videos and the internet for that. However, I would advise anyone thinking of taking up yoga to join a reputable teacher in group practice or one to one tuition for safety, like any other form of exercise there are risks!

Linking with
Postcards from Paradise
Recuerda mi Corazon