30 Day Challenge! I'm a star!

The Final Day- February 25th, 2009

I collapsed in tears after finally having made it to my car. I just wasn’t sure what to think or feel once it was over, but there it was: Mission Accomplished. The biggest box of them all was finally ticked off and time kept marching on.

I was an emotionally drained train wreck because class wasn’t what I had expected it to be on my final day—not that I should have expected fireworks to shoot out my bum or a lotus blossom to lift me up into the sky….as a matter of fact, I know I shouldn’t have expected anything. This was a challenge I set out to do upon my own volition for no other reason than to prove I could do it and see what happened as a result.

Every day was a new test, intercalary to the greater 30 day challenge to which I had subjected myself. Every day—a little lesson learned.

The most popular question that I have fielded throughout this experience is “So how do you feel?” Depending upon the day, my answer would change. The common current throughout has always been that I feel more centered, focused, calm and content. On some days my responses would be laced with annoyance, on others, exhaustion; but I always sensed that I was doing something “Good” even though I wasn’t always able to pinpoint exactly what or why that was.

There were a few days nearing the end of my challenge that seemed to be imbued with a severe case of senioritis, while on other days I would faithfully hold vigil to the quietly flickering candle of my energy and perseverance—lest they burn out. As a result of this, perhaps one of the greatest lessons I have come to appreciate is that every day is different and I should never hold any expectations about what it may or may not be. I must simply accept that fact and be grateful that I have the opportunity to experience what may come.

This is my journey. More so than anything else, I have learned to be humble both on my yoga mat and in life. Almost every day I fondly regard a proverb that hangs in my studio’s lobby: “Be humble, for you are made of dung. Be noble, for you are made of stars.” I am a tiny bleating constellation in a seemingly endless galaxy of stars. All I can do is put every ounce of myself into the universe and hope that I receive a little bit in return.