Friday, May 1, 2009

Medium Yoga and a Large Cry

I woke up this morning with a sore back and a headache, and feeling down in the dumps.

Right now, my back and my head feel great, and I am feeling supremely relaxed and happy.

Would you believe that all this happened from one yoga class? (Okay, I suppose it doesn’t hurt that it’s Friday night, too!)

Anyway, in yoga class today (at my job, we get a free hour-long yoga class every week), the teacher taught us a new kind of yoga that I’d never tried before. I can’t remember what it was called (I REALLY wish I could remember what it was called), but it was a more meditative type of yoga, where the poses aren’t super-difficult, but you hold each pose for at least 2-3 minutes while really focusing on your breathing.

Although it wasn’t necessarily an easy yoga class, it felt WONDERFUL.

Honestly, it felt like the kind of yoga that was perfect for me. I feel like I literally felt myself opening up, and my negative energy draining away.

And the hour went by extremely fast. I was so surprised when she told us it was time to go into the final relaxation pose. Usually by that time, I am pretty much ready to punch the teacher in order to get her to end the class. But today, even though I was sweaty and my heart was pounding, I know I could have gone on even longer.

And then something amazing happened. As I lay in relaxation pose, I suddenly felt myself completely let go of EVERYTHING that had been bothering me this past week…and as my body sunk into the floor, I felt my emotions also beginning to let go…

And as we sat up and ended the class with our usual bow and said “Namaste,” I felt the tears welling up in my eyes.

The teacher said, “Don’t be surprised if you feel emotional at times, off and on throughout the day. This kind of practice tends to do that to people sometimes.”

No kidding!

I looked over at one of my coworkers, and I may be wrong, but I think I saw that her eyes were red, too.

Slowly, I rolled up my mat and gathered up my things, and I went into the bathroom to change. And then…I just let go.

I cried and cried—and it felt so wonderful! I felt like every part of me just completely let go.

For those of you who don’t know what it’s like to have a good cry—well, you just don’t know what you’re missing! It can be an absolutely beautiful experience.

And no, there’s nothing really terrible happening in my life right now. Sometimes I just bottle lots of little things up, and a good cry is all I need to feel all better again.

Later this afternoon, my coworker remarked that she felt like “mush.”

I know exactly what she meant. Feeling like mush is pretty freakin’ awesome.

11 comments:

Diane said...

Hey Miss Cryingpants! I need to start doing yoga! I could use a good cry!

Unknown said...

I think it sounds like a wonderful release........I'm flying to Chi town to Yoga with you!

rosemary said...

I have had a set of Yoga Cd's for maybe two years....still all nicely wrapped up in their box. I need a good cry for lots of reasons....my chest feels like it is going to explode.

Sling said...

The Chinese call it 'Chi'.
That wonderful connection between spirit and body that is greater than the sum of it's parts.
Your Kung-Fu is good! ;)

Random Thinker said...

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life I think we forget to just "be" once in awhile.

Lorraine said...

Sounds like a wonderful thing to me. I realized the other day how little I really breathe. Gotta work on that.

sageweb said...

Very cool..I love the yoga and it does mess with your head.

Leah said...

Wow! What a cool perk of your job. I know what you mean about YOGA, it's like a spiritual & physical massage.
I love it & need to practice it more often. Glad you're feeling better !

lisahgolden said...

That's an amazing experience. I wonder if that would work for me....

LostInColor said...

That is awesome your work offers that.

Unknown said...

Sighhh. I would love to have that yoga class. I sure think I would like it and there is plenty to "let go of".
Glad you had a chance to try it and it was so successful for you.