Yoga

Yoga(Ina Moore) Yoga

The light begins to fade as I slowly close my eyes. A gentle foreign-sounding voice tells me to deepen my breath, and as I do so, my mind floats away into a far-away land. I find myself high in the mountains where snow-covered tops surround my room. I imagine the usually stationary curtains billowing around me moved by the crisp mountain breeze. But I do not feel cold, just invigorated by the purity of the air. As I grow taller, following the gentle but determined guidance of my teacher, I feel the rough planks under my seat. It grounds me to the earth in its most primitive being, and there is such simplicity and joy in the elemental feeling of being here.

Slowly and at first very quietly, a chanting sound comes into my awareness moving closer, growing more intense as my breath follows the rhythm of the instruments that seem to fill the room with an earthy quality. I can feel my heartbeat slowing as my mind wanders around inside of me feeling the relaxed tensity of every one of my muscles. I feel strong, and as my arms stretch above me, they grow long, sending my inner fire that has been concentrated in my belly up toward the sky releasing it out of the ends of my fingertips like a beautiful light.

My eyes open at my teacher's command. She is a beautiful creature who flows through the asanas with such effortless grace that almost makes her seem inhuman, like she is not from this earth, a being destined to enlighten the rest of us, teach us how to live, how to love, how to become one with this earth and find eternal harmony. I follow her lead, her every move, searching for my own lightness and strength until I feel like I'm floating too. I imagine my body extending beyond it's natural boundaries, slowly bending past it's limit until there is no limit, just surrender, and I enter a new dimension of clarity, one that goes far beyond my body. Then it is time to let go, just absorbing my body's tired yet invigorated being as I stretch out onto the floor. Cold gentle hands that smell of lavender firmly push my shoulders into the ground, releasing one more deep breath, and as I inhale, I try to capture the scent that reminds me of beauty and purity.

The heavy wooden doors to my room that had opened up to a wintry mountainous view slowly close without a sound, and the chanting fades until I hear, first from afar, then more and more clearly the laughing and shouting of children outside. As I open my eyes again, the curtains are stationary once more as if nothing had happened and I have returned to reality, an ordinary room at the Y. Looking around, I find myself surrounded by people who have found it too, a sacred place where our souls live. And we'll all meet again next week in this ordinary room doing extraordinary things.