Uttanasana

This evening my yoga instructor asked us to dedicate our exercise to a positive thought for someone. It may be a bit selfish, but I chose myself. I haven't done yoga in such a long time, so I felt like I needed to push my positive energy towards reestablishing my focus.

My yoga instructor is a really beautiful, sweet woman whose name I always forget because I can't pronounce it. She tells us that the lessons we learn in yoga can be transferred to our everyday life, and I definitely believe this. There was a time in my life when I was really disciplined in yoga; I did it twice a day. I slept better, I woke up feeling more refreshed, I had better posture, and I felt more able to focus. Yoga forces you to just be with yourself--your thoughts and your body. It's more difficult than it sounds for someone whose mind is often going a mile a minute. This is exactly why yoga is so good for someone with my personality--I tend to multi-task TOO much. It's one thing to multi-task in order to get through an especially busy law school day, it's quite another to multi-task when I genuinely have nothing to do (it's rare, but it happens). Just to illustrate this point, as I'm typing this blog I am also watching TV, drinking wine, texting a friend, and getting up intermittently to straighten my hair. I don't know why I insist on living like this, when I could just straighten my hair, THEN write this blog, THEN watch the episode while drinking my wine, that way I'd be giving separate attention to each (as far as the texting goes, let's be honest, I'm doing it all day everyday anyway). Yoga is just as much about meditation as it is about exercise, so, in the past, it has helped me become more disciplined in my focus. Some poses, such as Balasana or Savasana require you to literally just stay still and think. This was weird to me at first; I remember looking around the room wondering how everyone could just be for that long. No music, no TV, no texting. The more I did it though, the more I enjoyed it. It's an hour, twice a week now, where I am forced to shut everything off. And man, do I need it. From the time I wake up in the morning until the time I go to sleep, I am going, going, going, even if the "going" merely refers to thoughts in my head.

I have Joby to thank for introducing me to the loveliness of yoga. I know for a fact that she watches movies while doing her yoga, but she's got a kid so it's different. Multi-tasking is on a whole different level when you're a mom. You take the time you can get.