Sitting on my ankles at the edge of my mat. I breathe in, drawing a slow, controlled, breath through my nose. Exhale. My breath continues, steadily, bringing life to my muscles with my movements.
I move into Balasana, bringing my shoulders down towards floor. In this posture I humbly bow down, promising to give respect my body throughout my practice.
The next inhalation carries me to my knees. Before I am able to form a thought, I am arched backwards into Ustrasana, lifting blissfully, grateful for the multiple openings in my body. This pose is so liberating, that I continue enjoying it for several breaths, stretching deeper, and deeper.
Eventually, I feel the urge to continue further down to the floor towards Kapotāsana, a pose I have been working towards for a quite a while. Lately I have been coming very close and can see undeniable proof that, with reasonable effort, anything can be accomplished. Today, the Pigeon is my friend. Almost there, I can grasp my toes with the tips of my fingers. I stay reaching, respectively, towards this boundary, smiling because I know this one will be mine soon
.
I make my way out, stopping to revisit Ustrasana on my way into Cat and Cow. Flexing up and down, relaxing and releasing, with my breath.
As I sink through Kumbhakasana, flowing into Chaturanga Dandasana, I realize the Sanskrit pose names are dancing along in my head, mirroring my movements, replacing all other thoughts.
I hold myself just inches off the floor, for a breath or two, before finally lifting into Downward Facing Dog, rolling over my toes on the way into the posture. Downward Dog, or Adho Mukha Svanasana, still comes to mind in plain English. It always feels so welcoming, like a friend saying, "Hello, welcome home. Its good to see you!" I move through several variations, stretching my legs, chest, and shoulders, before jumping my legs up for a forward fold.
I squish my ear-buds firmly into my ears so that they don't fall out during the next sequence. The calm, acoustic, harmony helps to keep the tempo of my breath.
I close my eyes, lost both in music and in breath, allowing myself to plunge further into Uttanasana, before continuing on with several Sun Salutations.
For the next hour I find myself lost in a twisting, winding, free flowing, dance, moving in complete relaxation from one posture to the next.
Before I know it, I am sinking from Halasana into Savasana, listening to the last minutes of a captivating melody. A woman is singing, her voice radiant in a foreign tongue, and though I do not understand her words, my body is singing right along with her, joyfully.
