Journey to the Center of your Mind (Joe)

I started doing yoga to indulge her. Because that's what I do, not just because I'm a Wonderful Partner (hee), but if it's important to her, if she sees value in it, then by definition there must be something there. This has been going on for about 6 weeks now, her telling me "You don't have to keep doing it if you don't want to," and me tossing back my snide little barbs so she knows I'm Doing This For Her. When I tell her "I function better when I'm in a relationship," that's what I'm talking about. A lot of the good things I do for myself, I might not already be doing if she wasn't there crooking her finger at me to come along with her.

So yes, the physical aspect of yoga is what drew me to it, to unkink my 50-ish Eastern European frame.. Or at least that's the reason I rationalized to keep going. I could sense rather than feel that there was something else there, some deeper spiritual aspect, even though I resisted, cackling internally when the New Agey instructors prattled on about "breathing into your root Chakra," and "releasing your negative energy."

Then last night, a switch flipped. It was the first time in class where no one else mattered, as far as my need to rank myself vs. my fellow humans. I decided to push myself, I decided to see what I had in me. I decided it was time, and how it all came out, was completely up to me.

It felt incredible.

For maybe the first time in my life, I'm glimpsing the person I can grow into if I wish. I'm understanding how the moat I built around the castle didn't just keep the other horses out, it kept me in. I'm understanding that calcification can happen in the body as well as the mind (And that ain't pretty), and it's best to catch that early.

My bottom line? Sure, this blog, our trip, our 6-Month Sojourn might seem to some people like we're indulging in some hair-brained scheme that leverages a Geographical Cure. That's not it at all. What this experience taught me is that when you're adventurous in your mind, the adventure in your life just manifests naturally.

Happy Savasana, y'all.

P.S. Yoga's cool, but don't be This Guy.