Beginning Again

I tend to be a workout snob...which is hilarious considering the fact that I just started working out regularly my senior year in high school. I get proud and think I don't need to stretch much, or at the other end, I think I don't need rest days. A very dangerous mode of thinking, indeed. Unfortunately, my snobbery kept me from keeping up with yoga on my own. "I have XYZ more important things to be doing." In hindsight I can say that I've been lying to myself. I have thoroughly enjoyed this first week of my return to the practice of yoga. Mind and Body are very happy with my decision to take this yoga and philosophy class. Each time I laid in corpse pose at the end of the practice, I felt radiantly peaceful. I forgot how sweet that feeling is, how my mind and my body sing after a good stretching.

The other day I was studying with a friend in the library for several hours. I can't sit still for very long, so I would twist around my chair, cracking my back. (It's a nice temporary solution to my relatively sedentary studying state). I sat, studied, got up to pace, sat and studied some more, went downstairs to buy some sleep-discouraging sugar. None of that was as satisfying as the quick vinyasa I did in the most private corner I could find. A quick sun salutation and downward dog to upward dog made the sitting and studying combo bearable for longer than anything the sugar-producing manufacturers could concoct. I'm glad to say

How Life Works

The events that have surpassed in How Yoga Works parallel recent events in my life. For the protection of this person (my Captain), I'm about to be very vague. Sorry (I'm not sorry), Interwebs. Someone has recently entered my life who needs a lot of help. This sounds pretty harsh now that I've written it, but it's true. We all need help at some point, some in a larger quantity than others, and some more frequently. 

I want to help people. I plan to go to graduate school to get a degree in counseling. I'm terrified, and I feel under qualified, but God is showing me just how qualified I am in a practical way. When the main character said, "...it occured to me that events had thrust me to the very place I had always said I wanted to go: to an opportunity where I could help others heal themselves..." I realized that she succinctly and eloquently verbalized where I am in life. 

My Captain, the person I've been helping (and at times encouraging her/him to get help from those more qualified than me), continues to show me how I've grown. I have learned a lot in the psychology classes I've taken and the positions I've held that require exercising my interpersonal skills. In the time that I've known My Captain, I have used quite a bit from my stores of knowledge. I have also been humbled by reminders that I don't know everything, and I am not omnipotent. (Thank goodness). Like Roach's protagonist, I find myself laughing on the inside as My Captain will express concern which I expressed with others older than me. I've listened to her/him complain, worry, and even get excited about things which once stressed and eustressed(?) me. This situation/friendship/mentorship makes me thankful for every challenging thing I've endured. It would be hard to say, "it's going to be okay" without really knowing that truth. Sometimes it's hard to stay patient and encouraging, but doing so gets easier when I remind myself that I come from the same place. 

Creative Imaginative Title: First Post

Hellooo all! I have never written a blog before, but I really like this already. I am creating this for a yoga class, so, here we go! My name is Tyler, and I have a casual relationship with yoga. I started doing it when I came to college as there was a class on it offered at my church. Then, I started doing yoga poses all the time...when I was reading, waiting around, but most frequently after working out. I should mention at this point, that I am an exercise enthusiast. I have a feeling most of my posts will relate to how I feel about yoga in relation to other active things I do, such as running and weightlifting. (Those are preferred). Anyway, I worked a lot this summer, and as result, have become less active. I've altogether stopped practicing yoga. Now that my schedule is gaining flexibility (thank you school), I will get started again.

Lastly, I am taking this class, because it sounds interesting - combining yoga and philosophy. I hope to gain a new appreciation for the yoga practice, AND philosophy.