Yoga

Yesterday I was waiting for my laundry to be done. I have been at my parents house for the past week-and-a-half for various reasons, including a doctor appointment in Clearfield, a Teach For America ALL-DAY interview in Provo, and also for the pursuit of some type of employment. I was scheduled to make the five hour drive home after my laundry was done, but not really having anything at my apartment to get back to (except THREE letters from Kelly, which came only hours after my departure :( ) until Thursday. I was packing my stuff when I was persuaded by my little sister to come to yoga with her. I enjoy exercise. I love hiking and biking (although I always scuff up my leg with the pedal. I'm skilled that way.) and I am known to ice skate or run, can do more than my fair share of push ups (a little memento of my old marching band days) and I exercise every morning with my ball and weights first thing when I wake up. Despite all this, I have never tried yoga. I've never exactly looked down on it--I mean, it looks serene and all, but it's never really been something that I saw and thought "I want to be a yogi!!!" either. Well, I put my trip off a day and tried it last night. It was wonderful! I absolutely love yoga! It was hard, and I could feel myself working and stretching, but it was relaxing at the same time. I loved the feeling of working my muscles but also meditating simultaneously. It was absolute serenity. I wish I had money because I would sign up for a yoga class 6 times a week! There was a part where my leg was folded under me in a way I didn't think was humanly possible, and I could feel my hamstring stretching, but we just held it for 10 minutes on each leg and just kinda lay there. It was nice. At the end we just sat there and concentrated on who am I for a few minutes. You know, I'm not much of anyone, but I'm not so bad either. It was nice to think of who I am to other people: a daughter, a sister, niece, cousin, granddaughter, friend, student, neighbor, confidant, roommate, stranger, just some girl, or that special girl. And I thought of who I am to me. That's harder, you know? Try to think about who you try to portray yourself to be, and who you really truly are inside. I don't think I'm too different from the Dani everyone else knows, but I know all my weaknesses that I try so hard to hide. I know who I want to be and realize that I'm not quite there. It was nice to have some time in a quiet dark room to just exist and think. I didn't have to think about what to do next, what I have to do on my honors presentation, what I promised to who, finding a job, or what my hair looked like. I don't even give myself that luxury before I go to bed or when I get up in the morning. I'm always going here or eating this or reading that or writing to someone or at least thinking of what I'm going to do next. I think I enjoy my life. I really do. I see beauty all around me and thank God for this wonderful earth and the people who have come in my life and the trivial things like dry socks, a comment on my blog, or a friendly smile, but it's for a moment or two and then I'm on to the next thing. I really do need to take more time to meditate. I'm a meditation/yoga convert! Thanks Cami!

P.S. I have delayed my trip back longer due to the 2 feet of snow we got today. Oh well, I exercise through shoveling our driveway and our elderly neighbor's driveway, not as fun as yoga, but probably more practical for today.