GOING SLOWLY
I have just recently had to put my dog down, and I was one of those crazy dog ladies- he was my son and it has broken me in places I didn’t know I could break.
But I have been reflecting these past few days on what my wonderful boy taught me, and the major one was to slow down!
Claude was very old when he died. He walked slow, ate even slower and as a result my life really slowed down these past few months. We have been taking slow strolls around the local streets, and going slowly made me notice things- houses I had probably walked past a thousand times and never noticed! Trees I did not know were there.
I am so grateful that I had the last slow 6 months with him.
This is one of the very many things that I love about yoga.
I once got asked what an advanced yogis practise looked like, and my honest answer is SLOW! If we are truly honouring the unity of movement and breath, then all we can do is slow down.
Life is so fast, isn’t it? Everything asks us to speed up, to produce more, to BE more.
Then yoga comes along and asks us to notice the only moment that we have- this one.
Atha yoga anushasanam
And now the practise of yoga begins.
Its not when you have nailed Pincha Mayurasana. Or done a perfect headstand. Its when you become aware of the present moment. That is yoga.
That is also what my beautiful boy taught me. Dogs are so present. All he had was the moment that he was in, and as long as it had me in it, and probably some yoghurt, he was a happy boy!
And so I want to remember my boy by going slowly. By being in the present moment, and noticing the smallest of things around me. Because that is yoga. Because that is love.
I miss you Claudey.
The world softens when more of us pause for small magic.
When we lift our faces to the wind, feel the earth beneath us with our bare feet and thank the rain for returning.
The world needs more hearts that notice the quiet things.
The brilliance of a bright sunrise the sprout pushing through the dark, the storm that cleans the air.
The world grows gentler when someone lights a candle for the unseen, hums to growing things, and smiles at the sky when it breaks open.
The world shifts when we remember to touch the earth with devotion, find beauty in weathered branches, and welcome thunder as a teacher.
The world breathes easier when we carry tenderness for all that grows, when we feed the wild creatures, bless the young shoots, and trust the storms medicine.
The world brightens when someone pours gratitude into the ordinary, notices the miracles caught in spiderwebs, and recognizes every creature as a companion.
- Tara Isis Gerbis