To Some it is Given

I headed back to the mat last week after several weeks. I have been sore, tired and consumed with another work out program, so Yoga took the back burner for a while.
I don't know why I can't remember that I actually get far more out of Yoga than I give to it. But I guess it's like a lot of things- when something feeds us so much that we become stronger and better for it, we tend to abandon the very thing that gives us strength. Than we wonder why all of a sudden we feel so weak.

Well, Good ole' Billy Boy!! To the rescue once again he comes. There is a reason he was the first class I took on my road back to the mat.

As we were working through our various poses, he says that many years ago he read a quote from an old YOGI,
"Poses are Given, and Poses are Taken Away"

I took from this a very common lesson often referred to in my circles as
There is a Time and a Season for All Things,

But for some reason, when it comes from Billy
in Yoga terms
the message hits home.

At this particular workout, I had many poses taken away.

My lupus is flared worse than I have ever experienced,
I am having trouble understanding why, what and how
to recover my previous level of strength, health and wellness.

As Billy continued talking, I couldn't help but think of all
the beautiful, amazing and talented women, men and children I know
who don't fully appreciate what has been given to them each and every day.

How it is so easy to always be searching for more,
or better,
or different than what we currently have in life.

And than when it is taken away,
we sadly wish it could come back,
or we try to remember why we didn't enjoy it more while it lasted.

I do this a lot.

And today,
when I had a problem getting into my all time favorite pose,
because my arm simply hurt too bad,
and my shoulder blade was on fire,
and I realized that today,
this pose was taken away,

I was grateful that Billy was there,
he stood behind me,
held my arm up for me,
and let me rely on his strength where mine was lacking
so that I could enjoy the benefits of the pose.

Try to remember that "Poses are Given, and Poses are Taken Away"
and while you have,
whatever it is you have,
ENJOY IT FOR WHAT IT IS-
A Gift,
A Blessing,
A Privilege,

Because when it is gone,
you want to remember it with gratitude.