“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
~Anais Nin
Classes completed as of Day 3: 2
Standing Bow Pulling Pose - my favorite pose of all. It's so beautiful, and makes me channel my inner warrior woman. I should mention that I look nothing like this when I do it. 
Someday... (Image: ilikegranola)
It’s actually the dawning of Day 4 as I report out on days 2 and 3. I was so exhausted when I came home last night that all I was capable of was eating then falling asleep on the couch! I didn’t even have the strength to make it to the bed.
It’s early on in my challenge and I’m already faced with the prospect of having to take two classes in a day to make up for the fact that missed class on Day 2. This was due to my crazy work week and other logistical challenges (i.e. having a drink with some of the lovely friends I’ve been working with for the past few days instead of going to class 
).
I’m not worried though, I knew I would have to doubles at some point because of my work schedule, I just didn’t expect it would be right at the beginning. I think I will do the double class sometime this weekend. We have a long weekend (Labor Day) coming up here in the US, so that’s a perfect opportunity for extra classes. Also, given that I’ve really just started back up after a week long break, I’m not sure that my body is ready to tackle a double just yet.
So my day 3 class last night was great, and I actually went to a new Bikram Yoga studio. I’ve been wanting to try this place for a while, and since it’s near where I’ve been working this week, I decided to finally try it out. I was also lured by the thought of the new member special (10 Days of unlimited classes for $35). So for the next 10 days this is where I’ll be practicing. Its requires a little more driving than my regular studio (25 minutes as compared to 5 minutes) but I’m willing to do it for 10 days. After that I’ll decide which studio I’ll do the rest of the challenge at.
The cool thing is that many of the instructors teach at both studios. In fact I walked in to discover that one of them was teaching last night. I haven’t taken many classes with her at my old studio as some of the other instructors, so it was nice to have her lead us last night, and it was a really great class. There were a handful of people, but I found everyone to be very focused and determined, which helps immensely. The collective energy in the room really affects the quality of your practice.
Life is full of so many “coincidences” or “signs”. Last night as I was driving over to the studio guess what song I caught on the radio? You guessed it. “Live like you’re dying.” You might not be thinking that this is much of a coincidence but it really is. Firstly, I heard the song for the first time the other day. If I ever did hear it played somewhere, it didn’t register in my brain until then. Secondly I hardly ever listen to the radio in the car because I’m usually listening to my own music. It just seems weird that in the 10 minute drive to the yoga studio, I would happen to listen to the radio and the song would happen to play again. Hmmmm…… Anyway, clearly this song has to be my official challenge theme song.
Another coincidence last night, is that the instructor, happened to ask me where I was from originally. When I told her Zimbabwe, she surprised me by sharing that she had been there before and loved it! She told me how much she wanted to go back. Believe me when I tell you that it is very unusual to meet people who have been to Zimbabwe. How interesting that even though we’ve seen each other plenty of times, she asked me this question now, as I begin this challenge?
Finally, she ended the class by sharing the Anais Nin quote at the beginning of this post with us, something she has never done in any other class I’ve taken with her. If it were possible to have a favorite quote, this would be mine. How interesting that she should happen to share a quote and it would happen to be this one.
So coincidences? Signs? You decide.
Personally I like to think of all these things as moments of grace. Blessings. Reminders from the universe that everything is as it should be.
