Having Time to Lift my Arches

I have a list as long as my arm of things I intend[ed] to start doing once we moved house. I'm so pleased to know that many of these things are now part of my normal routine, but there are always improvements to be made, and I'm continuing to try and shuffle my weeks around to make sure I find space and time for everything I hope to prioritize.

Probably at the top of my list was to join a regular yoga class; something I've been striving to do for way too long! I struggled to find the motivation to attend the class in York; I was too tired, it was expensive and I had very little spare cash, and after having visited the class I knew that it wasn't exactly what I was looking for in a yoga session anyway.

I was excited to find that there are two yoga classes in my new town, and both of them take place literally 750m away from my front door. On Tuesday night I set out with my yoga mat in arm, slightly nervous that the class might not be everything I ever wanted from a yoga session, but so excited to meet new people and to actually do something with my evening!

The class was relatively small compared to the York class, but there was a much broader spectrum of ages, and a good mix of both men and women. We started with a breathing exercise, and then got into a sun salutation. Even though the poses were very familiar to me, I felt stronger in and more aware of my movements, and could instantly see the benefit of being in a class as oppose to in my living room. I felt that my practise was fuller, more intense, and more mindful. The teacher noticed that my arches are quite collapsed (something I'm very conscious of and desperate to fix), and immediately showed me ways to incorporate this into my poses, standing with toes firmly pressed into the ground and arches lifting away from the floor.

It seemed to pass in a flash, and before I knew it I was lying on the floor in the dark, wrapped in a few colourful blankets. I have to confess (and I am quite ashamed to put this in writing) that the final relaxation of a yoga routine is usually replaced with a token couple of minutes in Savasana before I rush off to the next thing; rarely do I allow myself a deep, long, intense period of relaxation, and I've been aware for a while that, without this, my yoga practise is pretty much coming undone at the final moment.

I allowed myself to completely indulge in the stillness, and found myself zoning out from everything; something incredibly rare for me if I'm still awake! This period of stillness is one of the things I am trying to increase, in various ways, now I 'have time' to be still. It sounds silly, but it really is impossible to be still when time is sucked away every day by trains, work, housework and exhaustion. Only now am I really breathing in the moments around me and watching them pass by quietly.

I couldn't have asked for more in a yoga class. The sharp edges of my days are fading into soft, felt boundaries, and I am able to push and bend my routine in new ways to suit my mood, my day and the spontaneity of my surroundings. And if my arches are fixed in the process then that will be a real cherry on top!