Recently,
lululemon athletica, (I work for them as an ambassador) asked if I would like a ticket to spend a day at the
Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco. Last year I attended the conference with Todd, and we had decided to take this year off, figuring that we see our favorite teachers at the Wanderlust Festival in July anyway. Well, I am glad that I had the opportunity and here is why...
It was to be a great mind changing and trans-formative day with King of Power Yoga, Baron Baptiste! It really strengthened my belief in using intuition to make choices and practicing non-judgment. The little things all fell into place when I realized after lunch, that I had been practicing yoga in this room with 300 people all morning, and my mat was next to MC Yogi.
I had made it into the workshop at the last minute after changing the ticket and had to take a spot in the back row. When he strolled in after me and put his mat next to mine I hadn't made the connection about who he was and I was hoping that he wasn't going to be one of those stinky, sweaty guys that might cause a little distraction in my day. I was really hoping for total presence and hadn't had a day to myself in quite a while and worried this could be problematic. Well, it turned out to be a perfect morning and the most authentic practice that I had had in a long time. I found that being in a room full of strangers gave me the permission to just really be myself and not worry about anyone else. It really allowed me to be present, but the real lesson was learned after lunch. This is when the almost stinky guy who had been practicing next to me was up on stage with Baron Baptiste and Rusty Wells, and was introduced as MC Yogi. I like many others in the room am a big fan and always include a song or two of his in my classes. We chanted, he sang, and when he came back to his mat I nearly threw out all that I had learned in the morning session about non judgment, non attachment, being present and my authentic self. For several minutes I was distracted. I was hoping I hadn't done something like sweat on his mat or rolled into his space after my quads cramped up during the 15 wheels we had done. Just when I had come to terms with being next to the guy, Baron asked us to break into groups of three for some sharing. I turned my head toward the (safe) ladies on my left and noticed they were already grouped together. I then took my gaze to the right, and MC Yogi and his wife asked if I'd like to join them. He then reached out to shake my hand hand and introduced himself as Nick. At that moment, I relaxed, I realized that he was just "Nick" and that this guy next to me was not sweaty, stinky, or the big yoga rock star I was making him out to be. He was just another yogi. He was there to practice, to learn, and to share like I was. We had a great little breakout session and he gave me some good advice when I mentioned I needed to stop worrying about lack of time in my life. He said, "It's not like your 70", which put it all into perspective for me. I have lots of time. Time to accomplish all that I want to do, and it created a shift in me to see beyond the 24 hour time limit we put on ourselves everyday. This has allowed me more freedom and less anxiety about getting it all done.
