gratitude for yoga
Below is an entry I wrote in my Wanderlust Festival notebook, Monday morning, the morning after we returned home:
How lucky we are to practice yoga.
I'm just coming back from a weekend at the Wanderlust Yoga Festival, and I have to share this. The night before we were scheduled to leave for the festival, my husband found a spot on his skin that looked exactly like melanoma. This is coming off of the heels of having lost a very dear friend friend of ours earlier in the week. We called a dermatologist and were able to get him an appointment for that upcoming Monday, the day after we were scheduled to return from the festival. We were both feeling resentful for the timing of everything, convinced we wouldn't be able to enjoy ourselves during this weekend we had been looking forward to for so long. We cried the night before, and left for the festival consumed by fear.
Fast forward 12 hours later, as we began our first yoga class of the 3-day weekend with Seane Corn, and my fear melted away. I was present, I was moving my body and nurturing my spirit, surrounded by a community of festival goers, doing the same. The fear quickly shifted to gratitude.
The weekend was so much fun, but also renewing and inspiring. I talked with my husband after our return about how he felt regarding the "cancer thing", and he said "I just left this weekend feeling grateful. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it when it comes. We are doing everything we can, and we don't have control over this".
Ironically, the Wanderlust Festival couldn't have come at a better time. We left for the weekend, consumed by fear, and returned feeling grateful and grounded. The circumstances hadn't changed. We had changed. As I write this my heart is full of gratitude for that thing called yoga, for the community that's evolved around this practice, and for the fact that I live a privileged enough life to have time and energy to devote to yoga. I feel grateful I somehow found this practice when nothing in my upbringing exposed me to it. I feel grateful my husband shares this love for yoga and that we can practice, grow, and evolve mind, body, and spirit together.
Chances are, if you've stumbled upon our blog, you love and practice yoga as well. Take a moment now to reflect on all the wonderful things yoga has drawn into your life: a connection between mind and body perhaps, elevated consciousness, improved eating habits, decreased anxiety, and improved mental clarity. Think of all the people you've met within the yoga community and the perspectives/concepts you've been exposed to because of your interest in yoga. Gosh, we are so lucky to have found this practice.
Life is a funny thing sometimes. It gives you what you need, even if what you need is not what you want. We won't get the results of my husband's skin biopsy for a few days, and you know what? I'm still scared, but I know we will deal with things as they come. We will do what we have control over, and continue to practice yoga regardless.
Update*** We received a phone call from the dermatologist later yesterday informing us that the biopsy was benign.!!! Phewww, what a whirlwind. We are feeling so relieved, and so grateful.