Let Go

I needed a yoga class after my Mt. Yale 14er climb Saturday.  So my friend Heather and her friend Logan said they were taking the 2pm Core Power Yoga class at the Highland studio yesterday.  It was an intro to hot yoga class, which meant the room was a little cooler than the other Core Power classes I'd taken and was perfect for me to stretch, re-center, realign, and find balance.

Sitting in child's pose to start class, the instructor Holly said on the inhale think "let"....and on the exhale think "go."  Two simple words that have significant meaning.  Think about it.  How many times in your life have you just had to let go?  Lord knows I've had to do it over and over and over again.  From letting go of some doozies of boyfriends (good ones too) to letting go of the security of a place you call home to tackle the next adventure in a new town, to saying good-bye and letting go to someone for the last time as they pass on to Heaven, those five simple letters carry so much emotion.

Sometimes it's simple, but more often than not, it's a tough journey.  Workouts are journeys.  Some are fast and furious, some short and sweet, some are attaining a goal, while others are flowing and stir something in your soul. That's what this yoga class did to me.

Ironically, I had let go moments on Saturday during the hike.  As I was hiking Mt Yale and was on the rocky terrain above treeline, slowly working my way to the top, with the changing weather I had a moment of maybe today isn't my day to make 14,000' and I should just let it go. But as soon as I thought that, I saw a friend running back to me who wasn't going to let me hike it alone.  I had to let go and give him my pack - something that was very difficult for this...yes I'll admit....sometimes very stubborn person. Above 14,000' as we were less than 150 feet from the highest point on the summit, I had to let go again.  In a moment of panic and being extremely cold in a snow squall I had to let go and admit my vulnerability, something I'm not exactly the best at doing...okay I'm horrible at it.  I had to admit to myself that I wasn't as tough as I thought I was and rely on the emotional and physical strength of several friends stronger than me in the moment to get me out of a dangerous situation.  You can't reach success if you don't try.  Sometimes you'll fail, sometimes the path and dream changes, and sometime you succeed with flying colors.  Although I was less than 150 feet from my goal of 14,196' I had to change the path because the weather forced me to.  Ironic isn't?

During the class my mind wandered to other moments of letting go - dancing in the rain, singing like no one is around (my Good Day Colorado co-workers will tell you I do that on a very regular basis), to laughing and giggling as my friend Heather and I did during one moment in the class.  Life is full of let go moments.  This class was 60 minutes to let go of whatever was weighing heavy on your mind and heart, sadness, and anything that might be holding you back.  Funny that today when I was running through Whole Foods after my Kinesis and Pilates workout, that I saw a card with this Zen saying: "Leap and the net will appear."

Yes I'm taking note of the signs as I did when my brother and I let go of our dad almost two years ago spreading his ashes out into the wind at Pretty Place, right on the South Carolina-North Carolina line.  As we did, the ashes floated and sailed carried by the wind.  A small change in the breeze brought a little of the ashes back to my brother and I as we stood on the cliff.    My mom said as she watched it - it was my dad giving us one last hug and kiss as we let him go to soar in the beauty of mountains in a place that is like a Heaven on Earth.  There truly is beauty, peace and strength as you let go.