You Are Not Alone
At the studio, we offer plenty of family and kid options. One of my absolute favorite classes to teach is our kids age 4-7.
To protect the privacy of our clients I am going to call rename the young girl in my story Mia. Not long ago, Mia came to class with a friend. I knew a little about her from before. I knew that her family was going through some changes and I had noticed that she craved a lot of attention that day. During most of our activities that particular day, Mia was my little helper. The poor girl was often discouraged if she fell out of a balancing posture. We would get up and do it again. Until one time she sat down and started to cry. I got on the floor and held her. I could see the look in the other kid’s faces, so confused, so concerned. The wheels were turning in their minds. Mia says to me “I got an owie”. The seconds felt like hours. I just held her. Even I didn’t really know what to say or what to do. Then another little girl comes up and says “Look Mia, I have one too!” and suddenly all of the kids are showing her their paper cuts, bruises, and scuffs. We all sat together, they started to tell their ‘war’ stories on how they got their owie. For Mia, knowing that she wasn’t the only one who hurt was enough to stop the tears, and the support from her fellow yogi’s was more than enough for her to bring her beautiful smile back. Soon enough, we were back to our yoga class.
The truth is sometimes we get aggravated when a cashier or waitress isn’t friendly or our spouse is snappy. It’s usually not the superficial paper cut that is getting to us but the heart ache. Everyone’s heart hurts in their own way. That’s the beauty in yoga class. We are all there, we are all letting go of our day, of our ‘owie’s’, and breathing as a community.
Practicing power yoga has always been an effective way for me to let go and to feel the love and support in the room – even though it is often with complete strangers. Ujjayi breathe is incredibly powerful and it is more often than not, the breath practiced during a power yoga class. The ujjayi breath internally heats the body as well as soothes the nervous system. It is an audible breath. During a yoga class the breath is beautiful way to share the love in the room. Many times I have been in a posture that has pushed me beyond my edge and I have forgotten to breath. The people around me were there to bring me back to my breath by staying true to their own.
Know that when you have an ‘owie’ that you are not the only one. Get on your mat, and practice. The Breeze family is waiting to welcome you! Sign Up for your next power yoga class at Breeze!