About 6 months ago, I stumbled upon a yoga studio (stop groaning) in my neighbourhood.  They offer Ashtanga Yoga and I had never heard of it.  So I got on YouTube and watched the professionals and found that inspiring.  I was so nervous about climbing those stairs up to the studio to find out more.  I was so out of shape, I could not even lie down flat on a floor let along do a back bend.

The people at the Ashtanga Yoga Centre of Toronto were so blissful and kind, I had the courage to buy a new EKo mat and DVD to get familiar with the practice.  I read the book by the Ashtanga Yoga Guru  - Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.

When I sat down to watch the DVD I was blown away by Kino MacGregor .  She is mystical to watch as she effortlessly transforms into the poses.  What  I liked most about her is what I have read in interview materials online; she is a real embodiment of a person, not some ethereal ideal of a yogi.  So even though I found her skill level mindblowing, I had the courage to start my very own little practice of Ashtanga yoga.

I am making gradual progress in the physical aspect of the practice though I am often disappointed in the gaps between when I practice.

I recently booked tickets to attend a session with Kino here in Toronto at the Ashtanga Yoga Centre of Toronto in April where I hope to learn about the aspects of meditation I know little about.  I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s  Eat Pray Love and really wanted to learn to meditate but that is like eating at a restaurant with a high Michelin star rating and wanting to make the main course at home when your fridge is full of takeout containers.

I had been eating fast-soul-food for a really long time.  I am now ready for some deeper connection, despite how bumpy that journey is.

Now, on to Nancy Johnston who handed me a key to amazing wisdom in her blog My Family Is Not Broken.  I had met Nancy when I was circling the drain of my existence as an overwhelmed struggling repeat mother. 

I found myself standing in her kitchen above her Art Studio as my 7 year old daughter took off for her first art class.  I knew from that moment 2 years ago that somehow I was going to be ok.  Just being around Nancy your shoulders drop two inches.  She resonates a frequency of goodness and presence that follows her around like a rainbow.  She is simply an amazing human being and her blog has a way of reaching people that inspires me every time I read a post and re-read a post.

I am just starting to rationalize what Awakening is meaning to me, kind of like when the Grinch’s little heart starts to come alive.  I am hovering around chapter 7 of Ekhart Tolle’s A New Earth, which I have been plugging away at for over 2 years now.  I had also been watching the Oprah/Ekhart podcasts.  I feel somewhat stuck, like there is some big hump invisible the never the less, in my way.  I am not a patient person but somehow I have not abandoned the book.

One foot in front of the other.