Mens Yoga-Balancing Act

Yoga_4_men
Originally uploaded by d7ana

A late night entry, and trying to get this post written under the wire.

Tonight I participated in my first yoga group. Prior to this has been my one individual lesson, followed by my morning and evening yoga routines for the past five days. I decided that there was no time like the present to jump right in and join the group.

I am hooked. The group I participated in was a group of about 10 men. Our mats were all aligned in a circle, with a single candle in the middle for focus. It was strenuous. It was graceful. It was spiritual. It was a challenge.

I found that there is definitely strength in numbers. When I have been doing my daily yoga routines here at home, I find that I don't push myself anywhere near as far as I am challenged to go in a group setting. Tonight's session was almost 90 minutes long. My stamina, and agility, was better than I expected. My ability to balance myself, not so good.

I find this kind of funny actually, and quite telling. I have always been considered a strong person. I am strong willed, and strong in perseverance. Yet, like many others, I have never been really good at creating balance. And isn't that always the ultimate goal? I find that trying to create a balance in my life is much like these insane yoga poses. Easier said than done.

When your yogi says "now standing on both feet, try to create balance. Shift your weight over to you right leg. Slowly lift your left leg by gradually moving your left food up your right leg. Allow your left foot to sit against the side of your right knee. Once you have your sense of balance, raise both arms up above your head, and slowly down together in front of you in a Namaste position."

Well, lets just say I didn't give up. And for parts of this, for very brief moments, I found my source of balance. It was fleeting, but while I had it, I felt wonderful. In looking around the room, we pretty much ran the gamut. Some were struggling, like me, others seemed to find this balance with little effort. Like the rest of my life, I'm going to consider this portion of my yoga practice a work in progress. Yet no matter how wobbly I might be, in the end I felt in complete union with the group. And with time, I am feeling more in union with the rest of humanity.