I’m not one to get “sick”, run down – yes, tired, needing a break (I liken this to taking child’s pose or skipping a jump-back during asana practice) – but never laid up, in-bed-for-over-a-week sick.
I’ve been through a lot of hard, challenging situations, losing jobs, moving, death of a parent – somehow this has been harder on a totally different level.
Pneumonia is its name and it’s my posture that I am battling right now. This posture however, decided I wasn’t going to win – but it was going to teach me lessons. Lessons I speak of during class, lessons I thought I was pretty good at practicing. But through the past week – here is what pneumonia has taught me.
- Sweating it out is good. No matter how uncomfortable a fever or the temperature of a HOT yoga room might be – it’s actually allowing the body to rid it of toxins – so, I gave in and let myself be in it.
- Rest is the most important medicine of all. Just like having off days after practicing, you must let the body recover and heal.
- Let Go! I had to let go of a lot – and trust that everything would be ok. Let Go of getting my daughters to and from school, to dance, to soccer – Let go of making their lunch, Let GO of teaching, working and being active.
- Go with the Flow. Pneumonia has had a different agenda for me – I thought I would be back to it by now, but this posture, this new friend thinks I need to work at it a little bit longer – so I am abiding.
- BREATHE – Oh my, you don’t realize how important this is until you cannot do it. With the aide of inhalers, herbs, and other various medicines I am finally breathing now…. But thank you, pneumonia for showing me just how important using the full LUNG capacity is!
And finally, the most important thing was to receive…. Yes, receive. Just allow people to do things for me. It’s been hard, I don’t ask for help often, but now I realize how much more I need to and should.
This is the practice of yoga. No matter how many times we put our foot behind our head, stand on our head, breathing through a long hold in Warrior 1 – all that is doing is preparing us for this – the yoga of life, the yoga of opportunity….
Thank you to my practice for giving me the strength, knowledge and courage to rest, reflect and receive.
Namaste,
Marcia