I finished the challenge today with my final and 20th class. I wasn’t exactly sure I was going to finish the challenge. If I didn’t it would have been the second challenge in 5 years that I didn’t finish. I made the decision to finish. That meant two classes per day for the last three days and then the final class today. Seven classes in four days. I have to say that I met my limits. I met limits of thinking that I couldn’t do it, to losing myself in the practice and losing track of time. That is one of the reasons I love yoga so much. It is one of the only things in life that makes me lose track of time. For me the challenge isn’t so that I can know that I did 20 classes in 20 days. What it is for me is a re-commitment to myself and my practice. I hope to practice yoga for my lifetime. This will employ an ebb and flow of practice. As I had started to be less committed in the last couple of months, I was reminded of the importance of my practice in my life by doing the challenge. The commitment is to myself, my strength, my spiritual journey, and my balance. It is what reminds me of how I hope to be in the world. I hope to be a good person, and honest person, and a person who lives from integrity. I also hope to be a person who gives back.
I was surprised to find that while looking through the Tao De Ching I opened up to verse 36.
Should you want to contain something, you must deliberately let it expand. Should you want to weaken something, you must deliberately let it grow strong. Should you want to eliminate something, you must deliberately allow it to flourish, Should you want to take something away, you must deliberately grant it access.
The lesson here is called the wisdom of obscurity. The gentle outlasts the strong. The obscure outlasts the obvious. Fish cannot leave deep waters, and a country’s weapons should not be displayed.
Funny how the first blog post for this challenge was to open up inside a container. If props make a safe container, then they are essential for properly opening up. I say congratulations to all those who completed the challenge. Hats off to you and your commitment. I wish for human kind to have peace in their hearts and love in their soul. Until the next challenge.. Happy 2015!
