"Renovationasana"

Boy did this body need yoga. Even though I was up late hanging a hammock in the backyard (I ran out of daylight before I ran out of to-do list), I managed to make it to Karen's 6am class at Black Crow Yoga. The class she teaches is my class' twin in a way, since I teach the 6am on Tuesday mornings, so many of the students who attend are part of my regular yoga family. And as I always say when people groan when I tell them what time my class starts, it's a really wonderful time to practice. What a lovely way to start the day. 

I have been teaching weekly classes plus some extras. Like for example, I taught Black Crow Yoga's Island Flow  at Spectacle Island last weekend.

I love leading yogis through practice when I teach, but it's been a while since I really spent time on my own asana practice. That made today's class especially delicious. 

In every day life I am often in my head. Especially in my work which is very much brain focused. And so I practice yoga asana to bring my awareness in my consciousness into my body.

There is lots of yoga in house remodeling though. It's just a different kind. I've certainly had to use my breath a lot, from carrying things intelligently to stress relief. And I have noticed with all this physical work I feel very much "in my body". I've been more aware of how I am moving, aware of my physical strength and also my limitations, and so very aware of when my body needs rest. If you've ever felt your feet first hit the floor the morning after a weekend of landscaping, you probably know what I mean! It smarts!

I thoroughly enjoyed Karen's class today and felt energized and strong afterward. We did some fun and fancy poses, but my favorite parts of class today were when I chose to take child's pose and rest my forehead on the floor instead of following the flow. What I needed most was just some body TLC. 

This morning was just what I needed to remember the importance of slowing down and self care. It's been easy to fill all my time with important and relatively urgent jobs, like prepping the rental unit for the tenants and addressing gas leaks and so on. And slowing down has always been a growing edge for me. Especially now, it's hard to give myself permission to stop when every little job seems so crucial. But I know how important it is that I make time for rest this weekend. No matter how important "it" seems, it's not as important as getting enough rest, healthy food, water, and connection with people I love. 

Namaste.