About a year and a half ago a student walked into my class.  She mentioned that she was relatively new to the practice and managed to work her way through an intermediate level class.  We diligently worked our way through standing poses. Surya Namaskar proved to be a bit challenging, especially chaturanga dandasana.  We worked on some arm balances that challenged most of the students in the class.  Despite the struggle, she attempted everything.  I saw her occasionally over the next couple of months, and each time I was impressed by her dedication to try even the more advanced poses. I would see her every few weeks here and there, and each time her practice continued to advance. 

Last winter, I left New York for two months to study with my teachers in Thailand - time I spent sitting in the seat of the student rather than the teacher, time to deepen my own practice.  I learned so much while I was away, and was thrilled to be able to bring what I’d learned back to my classes and clients at home.  The most amazing part of coming back to my classes after two months away was being able to see the transformation that occurred while I was away.  It was sort of like how you notice weight loss more on a friend when you haven’t seen them in a few weeks.  While I was away, this student had started swimming, practicing more and was noticeably stronger - she was moving through the practice with a new elegance and ease.  The months continued on and the transformation continued.  Here’s the amazing part.  The student who once struggled with Surya Namaskar is now working on balancing in the middle of the room in pincha mayurasana and handstand.  

This is the real beauty of the practice of yoga. It has the ability to transform us all - it polishes us, takes the roughness off of some of our edges.   We notice that suddenly a challenging asana is easier than it used to be, our legs float up into an arm balance with less struggle. My privilege as a yoga instructor is to bear witness to these transformations each and every time students walk into class.  

Sometimes it’s more challenging for us to see our own transformation through yoga, our progress needs to be reflected back by someone else as a mirror. This Saturday as I moved through my practice, the teacher noted that the vinyasa was optional.  Once upon a time, this yogini would have taken a child’s pose or hung out in downward facing dog, but somewhere in the polishing process (I’m really not sure when), I started to love chaturanga. Seriously. If that’s not a transformation I don’t know what is.  

Om Namah Shivaya!