Yoga is like my church; it nourishes my whole self—mind, body, and soul. I love the mix of movement and balancing and how pairing it with intentional breathing slows my racing thoughts. Having an instructor weave life wisdom and spiritual insight into class both soothes and inspires me, and I receive that gift in abundance from a lovely instructor named Birdie. 

Our classes usually center on a theme, something she offers us to think about when we set our intentions at the beginning of practice, reminds us of at our halfway point, in child’s pose or malasana*, and returns to during the resting and integration of our final savasana “corpse” pose. 

Recently Birdie, an apt name for this light and airy spirit, weaved together four beautiful themes—and every single one of them resonates with me so deeply right now in my life.

Of course. Because…synchronicity—the aligning of events in seemingly coincidental but actually extraordinary ways.

Those themes are patience, presence, stillness, and space. 

As I lay in final resting pose, one hand on my heart, the other on my belly, I turned the words into mantras. They came to me like my own personal serenity prayer.

Universe, grant me patience with myself as I learn and grow and patience with others as they do the same. We’re all just walking each other home. (Lovely words from Ram Dass.)

Let me practice presence, for each moment is fleeting, and there’s nothing available to me but right here and right now. This very moment is the only one I can be sure of. 

May I quiet my internal dialogue—my doubts and fears and second thoughts, anxiety about the future and remorse for the past—and allow myself stillness. It’s okay to have no words, to speak or to bounce around like ping pong balls inside my head. I can free myself of worry. 

And let me give myself and others space, for introspection, for healing, and for spreading wings.

As Birdie says at the end of every class, may all the thoughts we think, may all the words we speak, and may all the actions we take be filled with love, compassion, and gratitude. 

Namaste. And thank you, sweet Birdie. 

*Malasana is a Sanskrit word we English speakers call “yogi squat.” I endearingly call it “pooping in the woods” pose.