Don't Tell Marisa

Because of various conflicts, I hadn't been to yoga in a week and decided to try a new, to me, yoga teacher at my gym.

More than anything, I knew that my body needed yoga since I'm still sore from Monday's kettlebell encounter.

I really like Rhonna. She noticed that there were new people in class, asked if anyone was new to yoga, encouraged us to use blocks, straps, blankets and modifications, if needed.

I found myself laughing while in wide-legged forward fold when Rhonna said Say hello to your hamstrings; they thank you for coming.

When she told us to pay attention to our shoulders to make sure they weren't eating our ears, it was an image that I could hold onto.

I felt like I had the best of two worlds -- laughter and yoga.

In fact, Rhonna told us that she liked it when we laughed because she knew that we were breathing. And I liked it when Rhonna told us that yoga is about you and I ruminated on that concept: yoga is about you...yoga is about you...

As I think about how sore I am and how I need to immerse myself in a salt bath, I have a certain amount of gratitude for being pushed hard by Marisa. Having pushed my limits in kettlebell class, other tasks felt and feel much easier. And feeling like you can tackle just about anything? Priceless. But please don't tell Marisa about the gratitude thing or she might give me more opportunities to have that feeling.