mandy inchaustegui

I love yoga.

Every Friday morning, you will find me at LA Fitness, checking Elijah into childcare and heading upstairs to the yoga room with my lovely, purple mat in hand. Don’t ask me to skip it. I refuse. I have discovered that life is better for everyone when I go to yoga. Believe me, you want me to go.

I’ve been to a lot of different instructors and I used to think I preferred more of the “power yoga” style. I liked moving a lot and trying to do poses that challenge me. It made me feel more productive and that I had gotten a good workout for that hour.

However, this new class I’ve been attending has been a bit different. First, we come in and relax and breathe for ten full minutes before we officially “begin our practice.” Nothing! For ten whole minutes!

The first time I attended, I almost went bonkers, trying really hard to cooperate but feeling like I was wasting my time. Then, she ended the class by ten more minutes of “deep relaxation pose.” I was so tempted to leave early but I didn’t want to be rude and deep down, I know it’s good for me, so I stayed.

The lessons I learn from slowing down and breathing are a blog for another day. What is most powerful for me is the time in between the relaxing and breathing. Instead of moving through a ton of poses, she has us get into a pose that is stretching a muscle and then staying there. For a very, very, very long time.

Again, my annoyance flared up, feeling like it was a waste of my time. However, the way my body responds to the stretching fascinates me. At first, there is pain because of the tightness of the muscle. Then, the longer I hold the pose, I can feel it start to let up and slowly stretch itself out. The longer I hold the stretch, the deeper into the muscle it goes and the deeper into the stretch I move.

I find a lot of “life metaphors” at the gym and this was no exception. I feel like I’ve been going through a time in my life of deep stretching. I’ve been pretty irritated that it’s been lasting so long but it’s pretty much followed what I found in yoga. First, there was initial pain and tightness. But the longer I’ve been in this place, I can feel my soul begin to relax and move deeper into the stretch, getting to the core of the “muscle,” a place that just doesn’t get used or stretched very often. I’m finding that the longer I hold the stretch and the more I relax into it, the deeper I am able to go. And, ultimately, the pain leaves and a feeling of flexibility and release remains. I know I would never get to that place if I didn’t hold the stretch that long. It’s the only way to get there.

I make sure I stretch after I workout and I know those are good to keep me going and to keep me from getting sore. But, I need the rhythm of my Friday yoga to get to the deep places, which amazingly helps protect me from injury and from minor aches and pains during the week.

I know this time in my life is part of that rhythm. Yoga reminds me to lean into it, enjoy the stretch and remember to breathe.

So, I was brushing my teeth the other day…

I promise this is something that I do reasonably often but this time was a little different for me. Usually, brushing my teeth involves scrubbing as fast as I can just to get done with this necessary part of my day. To be fully honest, I am more than likely brushing my teeth, as well as picking up toys or clothes, wiping a nose or writing what I need to do as soon as I get done brushing my teeth on my to-do list. (Holding the brush in your mouth while you write totally counts towards that whole brush-your-teeth-for-two-minutes thing, right?)

Anyway, I was rushing through my brushing and a thought popped in my head of something I’d heard recently about slowing down and enjoying life. For some reason, I gave it a shot. I took a deep breath, stood still and took time to slowly brush every tooth really well. (My dentist would’ve been so proud!)

After the spit and rinse, I was almost in heaven. My teeth felt amazing! I know this might sound silly but I stood for a minute just enjoying the feeling of clean teeth, which was actually a very great way to leave the bathroom to start my day. I’d been going through a bit of a tough spell, not really finding enjoyment in anything. It was as if taking a moment to enjoy clean teeth changed my outlook for the entire day.

At least for a little while.

I began to pay more attention and realized that, especially with the normal, daily aspects of my life, I rush through life and miss out on actually enjoying what I’m doing. I forget to enjoy cooking because I’m just trying to get dinner on the table. I don’t enjoy the beauty of looking at the mountains through the palm trees because I’m rushing to get to school on time. I don’t enjoy the smell and feel of fresh, clean sheets because I just want to go to sleep. I don’t enjoy the novel because I’m just trying to get to the end to get to the main point of the book.

And those are just the simple things, not to mention enjoying the more important aspects of my life like my husband, kids, friends and meaningful activities that I’m engaged in.

It’s not that I fear that I’m going to miss out on something because I’m rushing through life. With kids, people tell me, “Enjoy it now! It goes so fast!” True, but I’m kinda ok with the change and growing part. For me, I want to do a lot and life is short. I must move at as efficiently as I can, doing all I can to make a difference and living well in the process.

It’s that “living well” part that gets me every time. I might get a lot done but will I have enjoyed my life while doing it? I might have accomplished a lot but did I have a strong sense of well-being as I was accomplishing those things?

I want to be aware of the pleasures to be found in the midst of the “doing.” The sights. The smells. The laughter. The exploring. And the smooth, glorious feeling of clean teeth!