Three Types of People

I think there are three types of people...those that roll out of bed and exercise, those that sneak a quick workout into their lunch hour and then the people that muscle through the day and make the evening their time to unravel the stress with a good sweat. Well, I am usually a morning sweat girl, but yesterday I had this idea that I would go to the 8PM yoga class. Night time is a different time on your mat. Your body tells you all of the things that you did that day, mostly, how you tortured it. The feet remind you how long you were standing. The back reminds you that it is ready to snap, crackle and pop if you try to twist it, and the shallow breathing that made it past all of the hurdles in the day is ready to take some deep conscious breaths to really saturate your lungs with fresh air. So last night I dropped a car full of 15 year old girls (and one boy!!! Poor child!!!) off at a concert in the park and I drove straight to yoga. It was like I had a date. I was so excited and felt like I was almost doing something naughty. Taking a night for myself, to really stretch out my body and really relax into the evening.

The studio is full, I am late. I sneak into the back of class. The teacher is working us hard…that is not fair. I came to chill and unravel. The mat feels so cozy, so much like home. My mind tries to stop chattering about the day….I made it. It is done…”shut-up” I tell it over and over again. The sweetest part was seeing who comes to class at night. It is strange for me…but, I look up front and I see a friend from preschool. Oh, that makes me so happy I have missed talking with her this summer. To my left is another dear friend that always has something funny to share. So I keep moving and sweating and feeling so lucky that I stole this hour of my day to step into my body. To appreciate that another day is done. That my legs carried me and that my heart feels good. 

At the end of class the teacher said to all of us, “Promise me one thing. Promise me that this week you will smile to one perfect stranger. Really smile, from the bottom of your heart. Send them the true depth of caring and love that you would give a loved one.” And that was worth it all. What a great idea. Go out find someone that you can just love…with a smile.  See how it feels.  

Smiles are contagious!!!  Go out and share yours.