On Saturday I decided to hit a yoga class at 1:00.  A busy time of the day but I got there 20 minutes early … thinking that would be sufficient.  It was, sort of.  The class space was already 3/4 full.  I was meeting my running partner and wanted to save a space for her as we had no idea this would be so busy.  By the time she got there, it was packed with two minutes before class starts.  We squeeze her in next to me and we are good to go.  I decide to dedicate my practice to focus.

About 20 minutes into the class a woman walks in.  I am fairly close to the door so I can feel the cold air fill my space as the door opens.  Before I know it, she has put her mat just behind mine.  In fact, it is so close that her mat is touching (actually about 2 inches under) my mat!

Now, let me admit that I am a bit territorial about my mat.  I know that all I need is the space of my mat but I like to have some personal space around me.  Not a lot but I don’t want my mat touching someone else’s and visa versa.

I begin to lose my focus.  We do a down dog and I can feel my leg brush the head of this woman (her hair is in a big bun and it is sticking quite far out of her head!).  Now I am really having a bit of an issue.  I stop, try to move my mat but there really is no room to move.  I now have lost my focus.

I make it through and as I stand up quietly and pull up my mat, she looks at me with the most intense smile and mouths “thank you.”  I feel it.  I understand immediately how important it was for her to be in this room with us, be present and receive the incredible energy of the group – and I must tell you it was a room full of positive energy.  I’ve been there, many, many times before.  “No problem,” I whisper to her with a knowing smile.

How quickly I moved from my place of compassion to my selfish place of “me.”  How important it was for me to see how easily I got tripped up … and how thankful I am that I could feel her appreciation and move back to a place of compassion.  While I may have helped her – she helped me even more.  I’ve still got a lot to learn.

These are the life lessons that happen in the course of minutes – sometimes seconds – and they make all the difference in the world.  We must be present to receive them.

I hope you have a day full of incredible experiences!