By Sarah Wells Kohl
Summer is over, Autumn is here. The days are getting shorter, the evenings are getting cooler, and the school busses, lunch boxes, and backpacks are everywhere. It’s September!
September is National Yoga Month. It’s also the beginning of the final quarter of #365Yoga. How have you been doing, yogadorks? Have you been practicing every day for 9 months now?
::crickets::
WHAT? You mean you haven’t all practiced every single day of 2011? You’re kidding me! I can’t believe it. I’m shocked! Okay okay okay, I’m not shocked. I’m not even surprised. And honestly, I’m not even upset because, guess what? You’re not alone. Nope. There have been a few days here and there when I don’t know that I actually practiced my yoga either on or off the mat, days when I was less than Zen, days when I was outright defiant and unyogic (whatever that means.) There were days when I didn’t wish every human being on the face of the planet well, days when I acted and spoke without thinking, and many days when I shamelessly indulged to excess. If I’m really and truly honest with you all, I can say that there is only one thing that I have done each and every day of the year thus far: I have been human.
Woah. Hold the phone, Joan. Isn’t being human, fully human, kinda yogic?
Huh. Whaddya know?!
We are human. Period. No matter how hard we want to be superheros or gilded goddesses or wizards, the fact of the matter is that we are humans and humans have faults. Humans don’t always accomplish all of our goals the way we set out to accomplish them. That is okay! We’re not supposed to be perfect. We’re not supposed to succeed the first time at every thing we do. If we did, how would we ever learn? How would we ever grow?
I have good news for you, though. Are you ready for it? Okay, here it is: It’s never too late.
Nope, it’s never too late. In yoga, you never run out of chances. Ever. There is no end road. There is no finish line. There is no judge or jury or final exam. You get to keep trying again and and again and again, as many times as you want to, for as long as you want to. You even get to take breaks! You can stop for awhile and start over. You can push on through, you can go quickly or slowly or even be still. Oh, yeah, especially that last one: you can be still. My kind of program, I’m telling you. Let us not forget one more thing: You can start over.
That’s right. You can start over. You can still devote to 365 days of yoga. You can still celebrate National Yoga Month. You can still (re)dedicate yourself to your practice. You can do it today! There’s nothing stopping you. No one will judge you or grade you or send you to the principal’s office. Nope, nothing bad will happen, only good things. Lots and lots of good things.
It’s time to get back into the routine, folks. Be excited about it! Yoga is the cool kids’ table where everyone is welcome. Pull up a mat, introduce yourself, and get ready for the best year of your life!
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Sarah Wells Kohl, CYT200, is a yoga teacher and manager of Yoga Sol in Columbia, MO. When she’s not on her mat, she’s messing around with her kids, her husband, and her overwhelmingly neurotic dogs, berating herself for not posting to her blog (http://sarahsana.wordpress.com) and wistfully remembering her life on Twitter (@sarahkohl). Check her out – today might be the day she makes her epic comeback ala Elvis Presley, 1968!
#365Yoga on twitter:
#365yoga, @yogadork, @sarahkohl, @yoga_mydrishti, @sweatydarla. And of course Judith Hanson Lasater at @judithyoga
Further inspiration: Judith Hanson Lasater’s A Year of Living Your Yoga: Daily Practices to Shape Your Life
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Earlier…
Thanks for the great post, Sarah, and the reminder that another opportunity to practice is as close as the next breath.
Thanks, Anna! I’m so glad we always still have time! <3