At the beginning of the year, embarked on a 30-day yoga challenge to set my mind and body into a pattern of regular practice. Today being my 13th day (and it being the day after a rather grueling asana practice), my body is feeling the strain. I had already started feeling tired a few days ago, and to take things a notch lower, I simply did a few sun salutations. Today, however, I felt my body was craving for more than just a shorter practice.
Thankfully I have Annie Carpenter’s Relax Deeply CD, a wonderful restorative audio yoga recording which I can listen to and practice with in the comfort of my apartment. Carpenter’s easy instructions prompted me to get into easy-access yoga poses which unfurled my tight muscles. As I progressed, my body feel cradled, and loved, and nurtured. The icing on the cake was Carpenter’s soothing, soothing voice that reminded me how important it is to take it slow and be gentle with my body.
Several long-held and relaxing poses later, I had my eyes closed, and enjoyed the last few moments of stillness before getting back into the real world. In the silence, I felt my body sigh a breath of relief. I could tell it was thanking me for giving it a much needed break. Miraculously the tightness in my shoulders melted away, and the soreness in my lower back was gone. “Thank you,” I whispered back, and slowly opened my eyes, in time to see that little snowflakes had started to fall outside my window. Magic indeed!