It's the Little Things

I've been averaging about twice a week in my yoga practice.  Work has been kinda busy lately.  Plus, I cannot bring myself to interrupt our weekend adventures to catch a class.  Well, I could if I set an alarm and got up early, but that hasn't happened yet.  For me, yoga on the weekend means eating appropriately and on a schedule; you don't want to practice with a belly full of brunch or mimosas.  So yeah, two days a week is the norm right now.

I have been lucky that my schedule kind of coincides with the teaching schedule of Mohan, the teacher from Nepal.  He's become my favorite teacher.  He's stern and chastises people for showing up late and causing distractions.  He does this in a matter of fact way.  He also conducts class in the softest voice which really forces you to listen.

Last night's Mohan-led class was great.  The heat/humidity in the room was just right.  Not sweating like you are used to is a nice break for awhile, but really challenging classes have been few and far between.  Last night was one of those few.  I was in a different part of the room, so some of the environmental factors could be due to location.  I'll have to see if that holds true in Friday's class.  

Classes have been really packed as there is a 30-day challenge going on where people do yoga everyday for 30 days.  To make sure there was no drama with parking or finding a spot in the room, I got there a little earlier and set up in the front row.  The people around me seemed to be regular practitioners as they didn't have all their personal affects surrounding them.  Only one person came in late.  No one's cell phones went off.  A few weeks ago, someone's phone went off in a bag along the back wall.  It kept ringing and ringing, but no one claimed it.  The teacher even asked for the person to turn it off, and no one did.  So weird.  About 20 minutes after that, the woman next to me went to the bag and turned it off.

After having a great class last night, I was in the changing room, and someone was talking.  I was in the post-class-haze, and it took a few seconds for it to register that the person was talking to me.  It was the person who was practicing to the right of me.  She told me that I had a really strong practice, and that she was glad to have someone near her who was really focused as it challenged her.  I felt the same way and told her so.  That little bit of encouragement and affirmation was exactly what I needed.  It didn't take a lot of effort; it was genuine and honest.  Those are the kinds of moments that we should all take the time to recognize and facilitate.