Day 21- The Microcosm and The Universe (explained through hair)

Day 21- February 16th

I’m growing out my hair. For five years, I had a cute little pixie cut that changed colours with the seasons…platinum….midnight….chestnut. I finally stopped colouring my hair a year ago and decided it was time for a change. Historically, whenever I would attempt to let my hair grow I would become extremely annoyed and frustrated during the “awkward” period. Since I looked like I had an unfavorable encounter with a lawn mower, I would abandon my growth efforts and go back to being a pixie. Perhaps it’s a result of having a marvelous stylist in my life, but I believe my new found patience and ability to stay true to my goal of growing a long lustrous coiffure is likely a result of my time spent within the yoga studio.

Yesterday it became apparent that my yoga practice is similar to this growth endeavor. Hair grows….but the growth and change comes about in a painstakingly slow, subtle way. I can’t remember the facts but I want to say that we gain about a half inch per month. In order to prevent my coif from getting ratty, I find it necessary to have a trim every six or eight weeks in which probably a quarter to a half inch is removed. Basically, I’m right back where I started….Except slowly but surely, I’m getting there. I focus on keeping myself cute for now but dream of the bigger picture, the end game: long glistening auburn hair covering my chest so that I might prance around San Tropez in a bikini bottom and nothing else yet still be covered thanks to my Rapunzel-esque mane.

Is it too obvious to make the direct comparison to my postures? Lately, they’ve felt stagnant but on the 21st day I did a brief recap in my mind as I lay in Savasana at the end of class. I can lock my knee for 60 seconds and bend my elbows beneath my knee. I can touch the top of my head to my knee and keep my hands in prayer position at the top of my toes. When I bend backwards, I can almost see the floor. These changes have come about so subtly, yet so steadily. I realize that if I put in the effort, no matter how unnoticeable the immediate results, something is happening. I see where I’m going and it pushes me to continue….