The Place I Learned to Sit

I taught my first yoga class of the new academic year yesterday. There were returning faces and bright nervous new faces. The lessons of this summer were all fresh in my mind as I began the class. I have my wonderful yoga teachers in Bali (Meg and Made Ji) to thank for how well the class went. I learned so much from them in the few days that we had together. Also fresh in my mind was the wonderful meditation course I took in Thailand at Wat Doi Suthep. It was there that the unfurling of a calmer peaceful me happened. It was there that I learned to sit.

My meditation cushion and bolster, Wat Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai, Thailand

I know that sounds a bit silly, because sitting is something that we all do on a regular basis. However, most of us are sitting in order to do something. I have commented before about being an avid multi-tasker; I don't really feel present unless I'm doing three things at once. Being that way for so long, I lost myself in the shuffle. But sitting and following my breath, I remembered me.

Reading Poetry, Jambo Arts Exhibition, Majuro, Marshall Islands

I remembered the dancer, the poet, the artist, the yogi.  She unfurled and sat a little taller within me.



Batiking, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia


As I sat in that first yoga class, guiding my students through pranayama with a children's story about a hardworking father who practices pranayama by the river, I realized that I was sitting more deeply in myself than I had in a long time. That this was how I wanted to sit from now on -- straight backed, heart open, breathing deeply, and embracing my entire self.