Yoga is a non-competitive lifestyle and exercise practice. We are told over and over again to listen to our bodies, to go within, and to let go of any outside influences for the time that we are on our mats. You are expected to be conscious of your limitations, but also to seek and go to your edge, each and every time. Once you reach and honor that edge, you leave everything else behind and move forward.
For me, finding the edge isn't just about going deeper into a pose or attempting a posture that is difficult for me. The edge exists for me in the unfamiliar, a place or situation in which I don't know what to expect or what happens next. Shaking up the norm is very uncomfortable for me at first, and often I fumble through it, but when I emerge on the other side, it is with an unparalleled sense of accomplishment. It's the mental equivalent of being dropped into the wilderness having to rely on your own survival skills to get you out. Trial and error, or approaching something from a different way, have shown me new paths to get to my goals.
Tomorrow I will go on my first yoga retreat, with my friend Jude. I'm really excited, and I can feel my adrenaline pumping at the thought of spending an entire day, not just an hour and a half, devoted to yoga. We will drive up to Mayacamas Ranch in Calistoga in the morning, which is about an hour and a half north of San Francisco Our schedule will be: do a morning class, have lunch, have some free time to hike or enjoy the pool, and do a restorative class in the afternoon. It is truly a journey, one with a lot of new experiences in store. I've never done two classes in one day - how will my body react? What will it like being in an outdoor environment rather than being in my familiar, enclosed studio on busy Divisadero street?
Our partner in this experience is our teacher, Pete Chandonnet. He is a wonderful guide, and his experience as a life coach make his classes highly energetic and personalized. I've been in classes where he calls every student by name. He also makes the classes fun, and plays great music, which is always a motivator for me. One of the things that I love about yoga is the connection between student and teacher, and I am looking forward to getting to know Pete in this more intense study.
I keep looking at the pictures and imagining myself there, but just like with a longer, more distant vacation, I can't really envision it until I am there, in the middle of it. It just looks like a post card for now. But tomorrow at this time, we will have just returned, hopefully having found a new state of mind, and explored some new territory, both inside and out.
