be grateful

Tonight, I am taking time to be grateful. I am grateful for a healthy family, amazing, supportive and inspiring friends, and for everything my body allows me to do every day. I've struggled with some weird hip issues for a few years now. I'll spare you the details, but when the issue shows its ugly face, things get pretty hard for me. Not only does this hinder my yoga practice, but it makes simple things like walking to the store or sitting on the couch a painful endeavor. I've seen a few doctors about it, and I've been to the chiropractor, and any solution I've gotten so far has ended up being very temporary. Today I found myself a bit down about the problem. I am only in my twenties, why is this happening to me? What am I doing to trigger the pain? Is there anything I could be doing differently? I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but I do know this: I can walk. I can feed, bathe and clothe myself. For those things alone, I should be thankful. Sometimes, it's hard to look at things from that perspective, but in all reality, we have to.

My grandmother died almost three years ago at the age of 71. When she passed, I felt an immediate sense of calm and peace because for nearly ten years before I watched her suffer. It seemed like one day she was healthy, and the next she was having a hard time walking. From there, her steps turned into shuffling and from there, she was no longer able to walk. Her speech began to slur and eventually she wasn't able to eat or drink. She had lost control over every single muscle in her body, but her mind was still perfectly intact. It was excruciatingly difficult to watch. She was a beautiful soul trapped inside of a body that was falling apart, and there was nothing any of us could do for her. I don't talk about her much, but I do think of her a lot, oftentimes when I am practicing yoga.

At the end of almost every class I teach, I remind everyone to be thankful for all of the amazing things their bodies allowed them to do during class. I want to remind you all now that doing "amazing things" doesn't have mean we're balancing on our arms or standing on our heads, but rather being able to do the more simple things. Standing in tadasna while we taking a deep cleansing inhale, or reaching our arms overhead while standing in warrior one are perfect examples of amazing things! There are people in this world of all shapes, sizes, colors and ages who would give anything to be able to throw down a mat and strike a pose, and we should all (myself included!) feel so lucky and blessed to be able to do the things we can do, no matter how big or small.

Namaste,
Tami