From Audrey:
A couple of weeks ago, I started recording what I call on my Twitter account Audrey’s Daily Mantra. But it’s not really a mantra, which according to my desktop dictionary is a sacred word or chant repeated during meditation. “What I Learned on the Mat Today” would actually be a more apt label for the little sayings or nuggets that I tweet because they are phrases and insights shared by various teachers or that come to my mind while I’m practicing. Sometimes they hit me like a brick, while other times I have to really listen to my guides and my body, but generally I walk away from every class or home-practice session with one strong thought or theme that I then try to apply to my daily life.
For instance last week on Day 158, I went to a Hatha class at 7am. It was a gorgeous, fresh morning and once I extricated myself from the day’s early chaos at my house, I actually didn’t want to head into the dark, somber studio. I wanted to run! Dance! Be outside! But I went in, and made sure to get a place right under the large skylight so I could watch the clouds during every backbend and twist. When it came time for our first downward dog of the day, the teacher said, “Begin the process.” She was, of course, referring to getting our bums in the air and our muscles tight to our thighs. Of spreading our fingers wide on the mat and letting our necks relax. But when I heard it, all I could think of was how bang on applicable it is to just about every part of my life. That mothering is a process and not something neat and tidy that gets all wrapped up at the end of the day. That writing is a process, which maybe partially explains why it’s taking me so long to get my second book done! And that my yoga” and the changes it is slowly bringing to my body” is also a process. In other words, the back problem I’ve had since adolescence won’t heal over night and I won’t suddenly wake up one day brimming with inner peace. What I (re)learned on the mat that day is that my life is a work in progress. And I’m going to try and be okay with that, which is hard for this type-A, perfectionist mama! Because by the time I went back out in that bright morning, not only were my muscles a little looser and softer, my expectations were, too.
Follow me on Twitter to read my Daily Mantras! www.twitter.com/AudreyBrashich
With her love of health and writing, Melissa has written for such publications as Shape, Natural Solutions, Yoga Journal, Self and Pilates Style, and has created recipes and food-oriented stories for such publications as Delicious Living and Cooking Light.
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