This morning I woke up before dawn: showered, dressed and then walked down to the Dharamma massage and yoga center for my early morning yoga class by the lily ponds.
The teacher was Meena; a tiny Thai woman with a broad smile and a soft, reassuring voice. The class consisted of a young Australian couple, a young Dutch couple, a middle aged Canadian woman and my self. Being that the sun was only just rising, we all had the appearance of staggering zombies as we stiffly took our yoga mats and spread them on the ground. We set up on the grass in between the lily ponds and the beautiful wooden center building. After Meena took up her position at the front of the class we were ready to get started.
For me, yoga can be both enjoyable and very painful. On the one hand it makes me aware of my bodies limitations - cause by the accident I was involved in a few years ago. As I stretch my bones creak with uncertainly and my nerves tingle painfully...this side of it always makes me rather unhappy and uneasy with my body.
On the other hand doing yoga a celebration of my gratefulness at being able to move like this at all! I feel very lucky that I am able to continue my life with so few injuries. I need to be happier with the level in which my body has recovered and continues to do so.
Being that everyone in this class was basically a beginner, Meena started us off with breathing exercisers and we did an hour and a half of basic yoga poses and stretches. It felt great. I breathed in the sweet morning air and closed my eyes as rays of sun danced through the morning mist.
What a perfect start to the day.
After the class we all sat cross-legged on the floor to talk, drink tea and eat bananas. It was friendly and warm and inviting. Meena gave each of us pointers about how we could more enjoy our yoga and get the most out of our bodies.
I walked back to my guesthouse with a smile on my face. Meena had said during the class - "Try and relax today. Be content." I knew I would be.
