An aligned moment

So I had a hectic week… in a middle of which I caught a bug…then kids and I went for a skiing weekend… which I generally enjoyed… except for listening to my son and daughter drive each other crazy… then heading to work this morning into the back-to-back meetings finishing the last one at 5:30 PM and thinking -  'Finally an evening for myself ahead of me, what to do what to do? Yes, it is St. Patrick's and I promise to send a lot of drunken thoughts into the universe, but no, that is not it… Yoga would be the best treat in the world, and I know there is a Vinyasa class at 6:30 pm, but can I make it considering that I need to make my chiropractic appointment first?'

So, I decide to give it a shot but not stress out if it doesn't work… hmm… this really means that I am starting to project yoga thoughts onto myself and slow down the wiring that is happening in my brain... I board subway to Yonge and Eglinton, get to the chiropractic and sit there waiting for a good 15 minutes, before getting adjusted. I make a promise to myself not to check time until after I leave… I chat with my chiropractor and (yoga thoughts must have worked) I am conscious of the fact that this adjustment is critical for me after getting through the flu and dragging luggage and skies over the weekend. So, I embrace it and it feels good.

Leaving, I check the time... 5 mins to the start of the class… I will only be 2-3 minutes late. As I am walking down the street I feel taller, and I continue sending happy rebalancing thoughts to my body, as I am about to put it through work. 

I make it to the class as everybody is taking the first yoga breaths. I spread my matt on the floor, take a couple of breaths myself and forget about everything else. We go through the sun salutations A, slowly, lots of breaths, then the sun salutations B, then we get into Ashtanga standing poses and balancing exercises, then the sitting poses with vinyasas in-between… my body feels a bit weird, the nose is still a bit stuffy, but as we go on I feel better and better, and stronger too. It is as if I was in a crunch and now I am relaxing and unfolding.

As we lie down in shavasana my mantra is 'I am proud of you, girl!', and I don't let any other thoughts (well, except for that weird dream I had last night, what was that about??) get in-between.

The next thing that happens, aside from the feeling of joy for finally heading home to enjoy the still and cozy air around me, is, as I am leaving the studio, I see 'Fresh' next to it. I keep walking until my brain registers that this is my favourite downtown eat out, that now miraculously exists right next to my favourite yoga hideout. So I turn back, go in and ask for the takeout wait time… twenty minutes, longer than I'd like, but what the heck, what is the rush, I can always just sit there and continue repeating my mantra… so I order cauliflower-ginger soup and Indian dosas, without looking at the menu. The food is ready in five minutes. 

As I am floating towards the subway, I am grateful for this perfect alignment of body, spirit and appetite… a small reward for sticking to the right path this time. St. Patrick must have pulled few strings to make this happen.