Just Be

I decided to try a yoga class this week. This was my first time and was excited to stretch my very stiff muscles. I'm not a fan of heat, so Hot Yoga was not happening for me. Since "Cold Yoga" was not an option a Yin Yoga class was recommended. Yin is designed to take you to a deep level of stretching and work the deeper levels of the body/heart/mind. When I got there I found out we were going to be holding poses for up to five minutes. Five minutes is not usually considered a long time, until your body is posed in an awkward position in total silence. There I was sitting on my mat in a butterfly pose, leaning my upper body as close to my lower body as possible. My mind wandered from one thought to another. My mind's thought process went something like this..

"Five minutes in this position, hope I can make it. When I get home I have to throw in a load of laundry. How many minutes has it been already? Oh! I should write out my family christmas list this week.  I wonder if anyone noticed how inflexible I am. Man, this hurts. This is a long five minutes."

The instructor interrupted me and said, "Enjoy the stretch. Stop focusing on any one thing. Stop thinking about the laundry list of things to do. Instead, just be." BUSTED! So, I did it. I let go and existed in the moment. No time clock, no to-do list , no worries, just being in the moment. When I got home I was amazed at how relaxed and tranquil I felt. I realized how I'm so good at multi-tasking that I never shut my mind off to reboot. Do you ever find yourself thinking of so many things that your body is physically present but your mind is so occupied you're not giving your full attention to the moment? I was thankful to be reminded that sometimes in the midst of my busy life it is refreshing to allow my mind to concentrate on one thing at a time and just be.