Day 19

Today's favor was about integration. The strange thing about integration is that sometimes we are unaware we are lacking it until we are asked to find it by another. This was the case for today's favor. Today was different because instead of giving a favor, I received one.

During the past few weeks I have met so many amazingly wonderful individuals. One person, Jonathan, offered to do me a favor as his his favor request. He asked me what would be the most helpful to me and I responded, "I want to learn more about Yoga." Ever since the Favor request from Day 9 asking me to recommend a good yoga studio, determination set-in to understand Yoga on a deeper level and to face my fear of taking classes. It just so happens, Jonathan is an Iyengar Yoga instructor. He beamed upon hearing my request and said, "That would be great, let's meet out in a park in Santa Monica, overlooking the Pacific."

Today was our first session together. After parking and grabbing my mat and water I made the short trek to our meeting spot in the park. The sun shone on each individual blade of grass and gave off a warmth unlike any I experienced before. Suddenly, all the worry evaporated and I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that moment. I saw my teacher seated and basking in the light offered by the mid-morning rays. Jonathan smiled broadly and told me to get comfortable and sit on top of my mat.

Over the next approximately 90 minutes, he instructed me on the basics of posture, balance and flow from the Iyengar viewpoint. I was struck by how similar his teaching style was to mine with Pilates. We both use vivid word imagery and cues to activate different muscle groups; We both modify exercises to the individual's body rather than ask their body to do the movement in a "perfect" way; We both love teaching and being a part of our student's experience.

The toughest thing about our session for me was to let go and to let him teach and to let me be the student. Sensing my inner-conflict, Jonathan wisely said the following, "Let go of the pose, become the observer rather than the doer." Let's explore this further, "Become the observer, not the doer." In other words, take yourself out of the way and let the experience unfold without an investment in the final outcome. Experience the experience for the experience. Hearing these words echo in my ears, something deep within me let go and all of a sudden my body felt like one flowing, moving piece rather than separate, different elements held together by fear. I felt muscles work together rather than in opposition; I realized that in all of my focus to create a stable core and body overall, I forgot to remember the importance of ease of movement and flow. When something flows it is because it is integrated seamlessly; when something resists movement it stems from fear that movement will cause pain or instability. I needed to release my fear of pain before I could move without it.

At the end of the session, I felt more grounded, stable and free than I had in recent memory. I see now the benefit of combining Yoga and Pilates. Separately,each has value, but together 1+1=3! Jonathan is a gifted instructor and offers his gifts at several local studios on the west side of LA and also holds a weekly group class by donation in the park at Ocean and Palisades every Saturday at 10 AM. Please contact me if you are interested in scheduling a session with him or for information about his Saturday class. Thank you, Jonathan and Namaste!