Calm, on a crescent moon.
Coming into this Yoga Teacher Training I did not know what to expect. I knew it would be hard work. I knew it would change my life. I knew it was bringing me closer to my future and by the time it was over I would understand why I had the pull to call that fateful day to sign up. In January, I did not know what it would bring. On the first day we had to write a word on a symbol – I chose ‘calm’ on a crescent moon.
As this training comes to an end and I am starting to yet again look to the future – I am reminded to step back and see if any of those unknowns had begun to make themselves clear. They have. I have a much clearer vision of what I want to do with my yoga journey. It will require more training and more dedication – something I am very much looking forward to sharing. The word calm is not something I – a mother, wife, full time working being and yoga teacher trainee – could easily fit into my schedule.
My days begin at 5 and end often end in double digits. However, during this training, I met someone from my soul group – those people you’ve felt you’ve known your entire life even though you may only know each other for 10 weeks. To give you an idea of how in sync we are we had many symbols we could write our word on – we both used crescent moons having not spoken or interacted at that point. During our final practice teach she took my class on gratitude – in which I left the class in a very long Ustrasana (camel pose) to open their hearts and find things to be thankful for and let those which no longer serve or help them go.
Thus, began our week-long purge of things that were holding us back and pulling us down. The concept was simple – see if by purging one area in our life a day for a week what would change for us. We purged closets. We purged cars, refrigerators, purses even tiny areas like yarn stashes just to see if there would be a change at the end. Surprisingly, as we enter this season where every day feels shorter and there is something to do every moment and not enough moments to get it all done, I have never felt calmer. By giving myself one more task a day and letting go of things that no longer served a purpose in my life I released tension, anxiety and found more time to be thankful.
I invite you to try the same week-long purge – start small and build up to that closet you’re afraid to open. By the end you may just find yourself, your loved ones or some calmness along the way.
