Pleasantly Surprised

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
~ Melody Beattie

I'm completely surprised by so many experiences I have had over the past 4 days. I'll begin with my yoga program I took part in this weekend. I signed up to do "Freedom and Flow: Baptiste Power Yoga". If you are not familiar with Baptiste yoga, it's a type of yoga that sets your body on fire (as the teacher described it) The amazing thing was that while I was immersed in the sweat and on verge of tears, I was thoroughly enjoying pushing myself to the limit. It wasn't like past exertions i have done (cardio, running, strength training etc..) where I didn't fully feel connected to the practice mentally.Yoga for me is partially a spiritual practice for me right now, so pushing my physical and mental limits while doing yoga was cataclysmic. At one point after I had "flipped my dog" into a back-bend and pulled up from my back bend, I caught myself smiling, even though I was physically pushed to the limit. It was, in fact, pleasantly surprising.

After the 10 hour yogapolooza of a weekend, I needed a release. I know in pure yogini fashion this wouldn't involve beers and football, but I'm only human. I was pleasantly surprised how much I got into the game and also how much I enjoyed the company of 2 volunteers here that I had never really talked to in the past. I share more in common with them than I thought. By the end of the game, I was slapping five, yelling, and trying to cheer everyone up when they lost (side note: do not do this after a major loss!) which in my opinion only increases the anger in die-hard fans. It was a great night and just what I needed.

I have also started a new Kundalini Kria (practice) with the girls. I surprised myself and woke up at 5 and 6am each morning to take part in the 'Super Humanhuman" breath work that is Kundalini. I miss the consistency of meeting with the girls each day to share space and release everything inside together.

So, it's not everyday I find myself doing yoga for 10 hours in one weekend, watching football and loving it thoroughly and committing to a kundalini practice that is sure to exceed 40 days. I guess the magic everyone has been talking about that exists here has taken a hold of me. Or I am just crazy. I feel like anything that comes my way is achievable and possible. Oh the places you will go!

I am a walking corny inspirational poster and for the first time, I don't have a sarcastic comment to counteract it. Surprising.


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