Go w/ The Flow

I’m. Exhausted. For me, wedding season is DONE. I finished up the last of my bridesmaidly (that’s a word now) duties this weekend and it took everything out of me. Two days of GO GO GO just wore me out. And it wasn’t even MY wedding! Although after all the weddings I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of or invited to, it’s giving me a clearer vision of what I want for my OWN wedding. Which isn’t any time soon – but at least I have a vision.

And now I can move on and clear my head of wedding things – and open my mind to what’s upcoming. Just over ONE WEEK and I will be in beautiful Colorado – wandering. And dudes – I cannot WAIT. I’m so ready to be yanked from my comfort zone, forced to try something new, and spend my time with complete strangers. Although this trip starts out with a long ass drive, the destination is worth it. I just checked the weather, and when we arrive next Wednesday, it will be 85 and sunny. I assume their 85 and sunny will be slightly different than Iowa’s 85 and sunny… but even if it’s not – IT’S GOING TO BE SO AWESOME. 

After receiving an email a couple weeks ago with a list of things to pack, I immediately wanted to start packing. I wanted to leave work, pack my suitcase full of spandex, and get on the road. Yet here I am… not in Colorado yet. Mostly because in the email it also talked about the theme nights… which I need to figure out what to bring for those. One night we wear white – because white signifies newness, which is how we’ll be feeling after that first day of practice. The second night is some sort of “galactic” night – and if I had an old dance costume with fireworks on it then I would be set… however that was from high school and that just won’t work these days. The last night is 70s night. And the email specifically said “take off your yoga pants and skinnies and find something wide legged.” So I’ll be traveling all over the place this week in search of something for all these themes. And I’ve also got a red, white and blue headband for the 4^th – so there’s that. Because you can never have too much patriotism yeah? They’re busing us out on the 4^th to watch the fireworks – it’s going to be glorious. As much soul opening that will be happening throughout these few days, I won’t be surprised if a few tears seep out.

Speaking of tears and soul opening, last night there was a community wide yoga event at Jasper Winery which brought in Go w/ the Flow masters Ben and Tori. If you get a minute you should hop on over to www.gowtheflow.org and watch their videos. You will be AMAZED. The way it works is this: Tori leads you in a practice of her own making while Ben plays some music during this time. The catch: they don’t know what our flow will be until we start. They  go with the flow to find what the group is liking, doing, etc. GO W/ THE FLOW is an immersive collision of music and movement that is designed to get you out of your head and into your breath. And they were KILLING IT last night. I’m sore today, but I felt so relaxed when I was done. The roomie and I were talking about how great we felt when we were done – and how in just a little over a week, we would feel like this. ALL. DAY. LONG. I could have done this flow for HOURS and never gotten tired of it. I connected with other yogis while we were there, I held un-awkward, constant eye contact with an acquaintance for a few minutes and was nearly kicked in the face by the person in front of me. And I wasn’t annoyed by any of it. I loved ALL of it.

Prior to starting our practice, I was just sitting on my mat looking around at everyone there. I got the lecture of “you can’t judge people at yoga, that’s bad juju” as I was surveying the other attendees – but it wasn’t what I was doing at all (contrary to popular belief.) I was just looking at how yoga doesn’t CARE about who’s there. Anyone and everyone can do yoga. It doesn’t matter what you wear, what size you are, who you came with, or your level. Yoga does not judge. I have a competitive streak in me – so I always want to be “better” than someone next to me in their postures. But that’s not what yoga is about. Yoga is about being you. Because wherever you are in your practice, in life, is where you’re supposed to be. 

I keep toying with the idea of teacher training – I just don’t know if it’s for me. I don’t know if I would be an instructor, or if I would just use that time to grow my own practice. I know that I’ve bettered my practice just by my attendance to up level classes and the up level postures. Sometimes my balance is amazing and I can stay in half-moon pose or airplane without any issues. Other days I can barely get my crow flying. But I’m growing. Falling is growing. (I stole that from my most favorite yogi.)

As far as our 20/30 challenge we’ve been partaking in with ourselves, I’m currently at 12 classes for the month… 8 to go in the next week. Eek! I’m going to do my best to not miss it by ONE like I did the last time. How disappointing. But my plan is for a double duty of om-iness on Saturday, starting with Yoga in the Park and then another class with my favorite yogi instructor. Join me for one of those… or both! They’re both free and you just can’t push past FREE.

I’m out for the day kids – have a good one. And remember – falling is growing. Don’t be afraid to fall or fail… it will only make you grow stronger.

Xoxo.

S