the prompt for this inaugural week of bella's 52 photos project is "nourish".
when i first read the prompt, i got all giddy with plans of photographing luscious images of food. but the more i thought about it, the thing that has nourished my body and soul the most over the past five months is bikram yoga.
i started doing this challenging class (90 minutes, 105°, 40% humidity) five months ago and now i'm hooked like so many others.
bikram yoga nourishes me in so many ways during class; what i love the most is how what happens in class translates into life outside the very hot room:
- it never gets easier, just better
- there are endless opportunities for awareness, growth and improvement
- the unique relationship with the mirror in a bikram class moves me to previously unknown levels of self-awareness and self-acceptance
- it's true that my body is different every time i walk in the door, this knowledge has brought me to a new understanding of "go with it"
- i greet and dismiss resistance before each and every class, practicing peaceful warfare with this thing that cripples me most in real life
- following directions and relinquishing control and authority is fun
- the only decision i have to make is "try the right way"
- my nemesis posture, ustrasana, the heart-opening camel, has become one of my favorites
- tense does not equal strong
- the gallons of sweat and the many many exhales of breath empty my body, allowing space for health and newness
*my classmate isabelle, totally rocking dandayamana-bibhaktapada-paschimotthanasana.
