Balance, Flexibility, Strength and Patience

So I rocked the studio yesterday afternoon, and today I literally SLEPT through nearly the entire 90 minutes of class.  Finished initial breathing exercises, did a little half moon, a little awkward, and then went down and woke up for the last breathing exercise.  I had heard of other people doing this, but it was an interesting experience, to say the least!  They are encouraging us to reduce our water intake and I did do that.....so that was a plus!  

Here's another Thought for the Day that was totally appropriate to yesterday:

Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Poets like to write about love, popular singers like to glorify love, but nobody bothers to sing the praises of patience. I once heard of a man who prayed to God, “Give me patience, O Lord, and give it to me now!” That man was not born with a patient nature. Most of us aren’t – but we can develop it through practice.

You will find opportunities every day if you look for them. In a situation where there is a lot of friction, where people differ from you and aren’t shy about letting you know it, don’t run away. Move closer to them. You may have to grit your teeth; you may have to bite your lip to keep from giving vent to a harsh retort. And then, of course, you need to smile too, which doesn’t come easily with your lip between your teeth. It is a demanding art to do this gracefully. But it is an art that can be learned.

Some of the senior instructors I can completely relate to.  I love the way they teach, with encouragement, with a commanding and low voice and with compassion.  Other instructors are to me like fingernails on a chalk board.  In my opinion, they sound like they are nagging, their voices are high and whiney and their choice of words are always commands such as, "roll over, sit up, touch your toes, bend backwards"  without the explanation or the result we should be feeling.  Now this is not their problem.  It's entirely mine.  The style they use may work really well for other people,  just not for me.  So it's MY job to be patient with them, with their style and try to find in their direction something that I can use or take....even if it's that I don't want to sound or talk like that.  Patience, it's a beautiful thing.