I love my morning yoga.  I wake up at 5:30 am before anyone is awake and I sneak out of the house before I even know what I’m doing.  I’ve been especially dedicated to this morning ritual lately because running really does a number on my lower back and hips.  I love the breathing and the stretching and the sweaty sweat sweating.  The soothing voice of the instructor….  but the one thing I can’t seem to do is shut off the logical part of my brain that MUST consume and analyze input.  So, no matter how calm and soothing the voice, I’m always thinking about what is being said.  This morning I was particularly troubled by the following….

“Breathe in…. and out.  Be present.  Right here.  Right now.”  (Ok, I’m present, I’m here, let’s sweat baby!)

“Forget about where you are.  Don’t think about where you are, think about where you are going….. where you have been and all that you have accomplished. Where you are now does not matter, accept yourself where you are and see where you are going.” (uh.. huh? Wait… ok so, huh?)

Goodness, I’m so confused.  If I’m supposed to be present and in the moment, BUT also just accept where I am but NOT think about where I am, only where I’ve been and where I’m going… Does that mean that I’m supposed to be able to be here but not think about being here?  And recognize where I’ve been but NOT think about where I’ve been?  As far as the where I’m going part, I think I have this part down because I’ve got goals and I know where I’d like to be….  except for the part where I’m supposed to only be present… hmm.  It’s hard for me to not think.  I’d like to understand this though, because if I could, maybe I would be all Zen and chill like the true yogis.

The fact that I’m still thinking about this two hours later is a little disturbing, no?

I love my morning yoga.  I wake up at 5:30 am before anyone is awake and I sneak out of the house before I even know what I’m doing.  I’ve been especially dedicated to this morning ritual lately because running really does a number on my lower back and hips.  I love the breathing and the stretching and the sweaty sweat sweating.  The soothing voice of the instructor….  but the one thing I can’t seem to do is shut off the logical part of my brain that MUST consume and analyze input.  So, no matter how calm and soothing the voice, I’m always thinking about what is being said.  This morning I was particularly troubled by the following….

“Breathe in…. and out.  Be present.  Right here.  Right now.”  (Ok, I’m present, I’m here, let’s sweat baby!)

“Forget about where you are.  Don’t think about where you are, think about where you are going….. where you have been and all that you have accomplished. Where you are now does not matter, accept yourself where you are and see where you are going.” (uh.. huh? Wait… ok so, huh?)

Goodness, I’m so confused.  If I’m supposed to be present and in the moment, BUT also just accept where I am but NOT think about where I am, only where I’ve been and where I’m going… Does that mean that I’m supposed to be able to be here but not think about being here?  And recognize where I’ve been but NOT think about where I’ve been?  As far as the where I’m going part, I think I have this part down because I’ve got goals and I know where I’d like to be….  except for the part where I’m supposed to only be present… hmm.  It’s hard for me to not think.  I’d like to understand this though, because if I could, maybe I would be all Zen and chill like the true yogis.

The fact that I’m still thinking about this two hours later is a little disturbing, no?