Yoga Diary - Getting by with a little help from our friends.

John Lennon.

Well, one thing about me....when I latch on to something, it's like superglue - you can't pry me away. But, how long my little love affair with yoga will last...you never know. So, that is the caveat. Next week it may be Pilates.

Today I went to yoga again. Same teacher - same thing, only fewer people (all women) because the class was at 9:30 instead of the 4:30 hour as yesterday. One observation. When i started yoga in 1973, there were a lot more men in the class - maybe the majority. I have my theories about this, but I'll leave that for later. (And I am not convinced history proves me right, anyway.)

So I am doing my yoga - slowly, which I prefer. We are practicing balance poses. They are kind of hard for me - not mortifying like a full backbend (which I wouldn't even attempt right now) - but just kind of hard. One yoga teacher told me that balance poses are a metaphor for life. She said, "Don't worry about being steady. We are always adjusting in life." I've remembered that.

And today, while in the half moon pose, which is standing on one straight leg - bending forward to put the hand on the ground while the other leg sticks straight out the back (so you look like a "T" with an extra leg), the teacher said, "Use a block for support if that is helpful."

I took the block and placed it under my hand so that I didn't have to bend quite so far and it really helped. I found my balance. A little lightbulb went off. Immediately I realized that we need support in our lives to keep our balance. Asking others for help and support is okay.

And that is my John Lennon moment for today. We get by with a little help from our friends.