Today I needed something good for my soul. My emotions have been all over the place: up, down, down some more, cleaning this, organizing this, buying this, ignoring life, embracing life, squeezing the life out of my children at bedtime, and trying to make sure I pour every ounce of love into every day because you just don’t know. My aunt has left behind three boys who she filled with all her love. I need to make sure my boys are filled with all my love too.
Tonight’s plan: Yoga. And not just any yoga, yin yoga. I had to google it when I saw it on the class schedule.
All forms of yoga can provide benefits physically, emotionally, and mentally and Yin Yoga is similar, however Yin Yoga works the deeper levels of the body/heart/mind: the connective tissues of the ligaments, fascia, joints and bones and the energetic channels of the meridians, nerves and blood system. One big difference noticed by students of Yin Yoga is the long-held, passive nature of the posture, which gives time for a deeper journey to unfold, a journey into the meditative aspects of yoga, a bridge to living life mindfully. ~Bernie Clark
My body, my tight runner muscles, needed this deeply today. My emotions needed it more. There are so many things I hold on to tightly. As we laid in saddle pose, I felt my emotions stretching along with my hamstrings. Remembering to breathe when both became uncomfortable was a gift. Being asked to stay in a pose for minutes instead of moving through them forced me to stay present. Hiding wasn’t an option. Emotions trembled out of my shoulders during pigeon pose. Comfort was found in child’s pose.
Class ended with an Om. The vibrations in the room shook lose my tears.
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My aunt’s Facebook page has been flooded with photos and memories. The past week I’ve found comfort reading and rereading every post. I’ve looked through her photos dozens of times. My favorite, a quote by her, posted by a friend:
The world is hard, but it’s magical too. Don’t take it for granted ~ Auntie A
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The world is unpredictable. It isn’t certain. Tonight we got more heart breaking news about my father-in-law. I’m not sure my heart can take more. The world is hard. The world is also magical. In this same heart breaking time, I’ve been blessed with new friendship, deeper friendships, nonstop love from family, and a deep contentment deep within my soul. I’m stretching further than I thought I could stretch. I feel deeper than I thought I could feel. A much deeper journey is unfolding.
The world is hard, but it is magical too. And the magic is oh so good.
Kristy Maute 
You are slowly learning about living. You are slowly learning about acceptance and focusing only in the moment…that moment when you take the next breath, and the next.
Your Auntie learned this also Kristy… the world is hard, yes. It is painful to live it. But with the pain, the blessings are abundant!
My prayers continue to be with you Dear One. mb
Your words are like a cozy blanket on a cold night. They have given me so much comfort. I can’t thank you enough!!!!
It is hard to loose someone so dear… I am humbled by your words Kristy. Thank you. mb
I’m so glad you’ve discovered yin yoga (and also very jealous that you can do saddle pose because I CANNOT get my knees to be ok with it!). I have had more self-discovery and emotional release during yin yoga than any other type of practice. Without a doubt it is my favorite class to go to. I hope you find as much comfort and benefit from it as I have.
I’m loving it sooooo much! I wish they offered it more than twice a week.