receive what you have been given ...

This morning at yoga, I found myself so thankful for my body and all that it has taught and continues to teach me.

In 10 years of ballet, it taught me about perseverance and challenging myself, trying again and again with determination and strength …

In ballroom and salsa dancing, my body taught me how to interact with another closely and cooperatively; one of the greatest joys of being a dancer is when the two of you connect so well that you are both in total harmony with one another, singing the music with your bodies …

When I was pregnant, it taught me about miracles, as I was amazed at this new human life growing and moving within me, connecting not just my heart but my now body to God in His miracle …

When I went through an extended labor, my body taught me that I am connected to all other creatures, sharing in the most primal experience of birth, raw and guttural and painful in its amazing beauty …

When I had cervical cancer, it taught me that I could either be fearful and worried, or I could be strong and accepting – I could receive what I’d been given – releasing any worry and simply taking the steps I needed to take, knowing that we are all only here temporarily and what would be, would be…

When I hug a loved one or a new friend, it teaches me the importance of physical touch, how a physical embrace, heart to heart, arms wrapped around one another, can bring joy in good times and enormous comfort in bad; the same embrace, yet experienced differently when it’s infused with emotional intention …

Through fibromyalgia, my body has taught me to slow down and pay attention to how I’m feeling each day and to make any necessary adjustments, a lesson I use at work and in relationships: slowing down to pay attention and then adjusting accordingly …

My body has taught me that knowledge truly is power; when I found out last year that the back and hip pain I’ve had for many years was due to a transitional vertebrae, scoliosis and spondylolisthesis – and when I saw the x-rays and truly understood how my spine and bones were formed – I was given a beautiful gift; now that I have an “inside view”, I can make the necessary adjustments to manage and even reduce the pain …

This morning in yoga, as I extended my arms up to the heavens in Sun Salutation, I felt the strength and wholeness of the entire length of my body, fingertips to heels.

I leaned forward in Warrior III, balancing on one strong, straight leg and extending the other leg back and up. Heart slightly lifted, I focused my gaze, pressing my hands together at heart center, and held the balance.

Still body, still mind;
still mind, still body.

Thank you, body/self, for serving me so well!

Namaste.