This morning the alarm went off at 3:15am. Ugh...not yet! OH wait! This is THE morning! Im gonna do yoga with da fishies! OK- that got me up (ok, a few minutes later-lol) Quick check of the email, glass of juice and a banana, thats all Im gonna eat. Got directions and instructions on where to meet, ok, Im off.
No traffic (hello- it was 4:15! lol) and a beautiful view of the city- Ive always loved to look at cities at night, and Atlanta is one of the more beautiful ones Ive seen. I found the exit and the Aquarium parking garage no problem, which is amazing for me, usually when I go somewhere in the city for the first time I get lost. LOL. OK, I park and go in, and find the room where the yoga class will be. A local TV show was doing a segment on the Yoga at the Aquarium program Be Well Atlanta has( heres a link to the video- http://www.cbsatlanta.com/video/18791620/index.html - Im the purple blur way in the back on the pink mat-lol), and I had gotten a free chance to do it-something Ive wanted to experience since first hearing about it.
There were several people there, maybe 15 already, more came in. The aquarium was dark, but soon I noticed one of the belugas had come up to the window and was watching us. I walked over, feeling the energy of the experience already, knowing I was in for something amazing. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation..or maybe I was just open to it because of it...but I felt a connection to the beluga. I watched him swim back and forth, the rest of the tank still dark and kinda scary, but seeing his smiling face I couldnt help but smile myself.I talked with a couple people who were also watching the whale, and then walked back to my mat and got ready to begin. I saw Bill and Chris and Stephen from Jai Shanti there, so yay- I knew people! Bill was leading the class, and I was glad, he gives off the most amazing energy- peaceful, accepting, calming.
He took us through some easy poses, and a couple hard ones which I struggled with- but as he says- "Its all good"- no judgement here, just doing and being :) I loved the way he intermingled some ocean metaphors into the class- I *was* the kelp waving in the ocean current, I *did* reach out and tickle the whale with my foot, I even rubbed his belly :) I * did* float on the surface of the ocean when we were going into Savasana- the dolphins (my addition to his suggestion) swimming nearby, playing,their smiles matching mine as I settled onto my floating mat.
I felt so relaxed, and yet energized too, which is how a good yoga session always makes me feel. :) As we came out of Savasana and he told us to give ourselves a big hug, I did, grateful to myself for taking the chance of emailing my reply, thinking I didnt have a chance at getting in because it was already 3 pm and Kimberly had emailed the notice early that morning, feeling grateful to her for picking me- feeling grateful to Bill for such an amazing class, to the Beluga for sharing his energy with me and the rest of the class, to yoga itself for changing my life- body,mind and spirit. :) I felt those familiar tears welling up, and more came up as we ended and Bill told us to go share our "shimmer" with the people we came in contact with today.
I was reminded of Shawn Mullins song "Shimmer" and the part that always makes me cry-
"I want to shimmer,I want to shine, I want to radiate, I want to live, want to love, I want to try to learn how not to hate."
Always makes me cry, because theres a part of me that wants SO badly to shine through all the negativity of my past,to shine so brightly I burn off all the negative faeries, to live free of fear and uncertainty (well- irrational fear anyways) this part of me that I can sometimes feel, so big and warm and happy and just...shimmering!Shes there- I know she is. :)
And I think yoga can help me get in touch with that part of me. I know it can, because its whats helped me to even feel shes there.
3 years ago, I didnt have a clue she was inside me. :)
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