“The goal is not to tie ourselves in knots …
we’re already tied in knots.
The aim is to untie the knots in our hearts.
The aim is to unite with the ultimate, loving, and peaceful power in the universe.” ~ Max Strom

Thursday. My week is done as I am taking off Friday for Dan’s birthday. I look forward to Tammy’s class like good medicine. I am hoping to sweat out the week, and get energized for the weekend ahead!

Instead, I am distracted again. It takes me a while to figure out what’s going on. So I decide to focus on the breath and feel every inhale and every exhale. And as I do, I see the thoughts, the expectations, the pressure I put on myself. But I keep filling up with the breath, more and more until I can no longer hear anything but my ocean breath.

When we begin our back bends, I am really feeling it. I enjoy the opportunity to revisit a pose multiple times, as each time I get to try something different, building on all the previous sensations. My spine is so supple and happy, feeling totally supported by the breath.

I try to invite more and force less. If I am questioning my forcefulness, I am probably forcing. I am accepting the gentle opening–it’s much more inviting to return there. I see now that the heart will open when I invite it to open, and my mind is so much more at peace when it’s breathing instead of thinking, “look how open my heart is!”

I see the change; I feel it; All around me…