My very first yoga class took place in a small room behind my college’s auditorium in 1997. In the 29 years since that first class, my personal practice has ebbed & flowed & evolved.
In my twenties, I wanted to conquer the poses. I knew that yoga was supposed to be non-competitive and non-judgmental, but I hadn’t yet considered that one of the people I was supposed to refrain from judging was myself.
Much of my thirties & early forties flashed by in a blur of childcare, deployments, and household moves. During those years, my yoga practice was sporadic at best.
Finally, after landing here in Norfolk about six years ago, I began to practice again in earnest. GUD Yoga has been my yoga home since the studio first opened in 2019. The feeling of peace & belonging was immediate.
In Patanjali’s 8 Limbs of Yoga, Aparigraha is most often translated as non-attachment. Midlife is teaching me to hold things with an open hand, including my expectations of how my body moves when I'm on my mat. I embrace props & modification. I’ve learned to smile when my balance falters and to find pleasure in the experience, not the appearance, of the poses.
As it turns out, when you lighten your grip on expectations, life actually gets a lot more fun.
