Quiet the Mind, Do the Pose

Had a bit of an epiphany during practice today.   Reasons abounded for me to give up during class:  I had a new mat and it smelled like burning rubber; my teeth hurt during any pose in which my head was below my waist; my new metallic water bottle was hot on my mouth; my eyes were burning from running mascara; I hadn't eaten and was tired; it was just plain hot.  And through a good part of the standing poses, my mind was jabbering about all the reasons I should just give up and sit down.  Then finally, finally, I was able to  quiet my mind and not bother with my suffering.  I just did the work and in the process of that work, I found a great deal of satisfaction.  I suppose, in a way, that's what Tolle talked about in his book, "A New Earth".  Being in the moment helps to calm the ego and allow ourselves to be present.

A friend of mine a very long time ago talked about his experience at boot camp.  He said that although it was certainly a grueling experience, he understood too that it was a mind game.  I think that yoga training will be somewhat similar to that.  I will need to let go of my thoughts and just do the work.