aus·pi·cious

You may remember that my quest to achieve 60 yoga and/or meditation sessions in a 60 day period (aka The 60 day Challenge) turned into a quest for the auspicious number 108. For the most part, the journey has been going well. But it has not been without it’s own set of challenges, most of which, I have come to acknowledge late in the game.

For starters, it seems that my love of hot, power-based, flow yoga must be balanced with something else. My body has been hurting and is demanding change off and on for some time now. While spiritually and mentally, I’ve grown accustomed to my almost-daily practice of yoga, physically I have noticed a rather varied enthusiasm. Similar to my other activities, the value of regular yogic practice must be weighed against the physical demand on my body. While the movement feels good, I cannot keep continuing to push it as hard as I have been. I suppose my approach needs to be similar to endurance running, utilizing a hard-easy-hard pattern for long term success. The need for this change seems essential if I intend to proceed with my plan to pick up my running and other rigorous outdoor activities as we move into the hotter months of the year.

Balance? Wasn’t that my word for the year? Apparently, it is more than just being able to stand on one leg with the other stretched up towards the heavens. Apparently it is much bigger than that. Apparently the most auspicious thing about my quest for 108 is the realization that in order for me to find the physical and spiritual balance I am after, I need to find ways to balance out my yoga practice as well.

So…

With 12 more classes in the 108 to go, and only 9 calendar days left to do it in, I am set to cool things down a bit and explore a few new (to me) forms of yoga including yin and restorative. Perhaps that is why 108 is such an auspicious number. This can only be good and, therefore, conducive to future success and a happy body — which is what I desperately need right now.