“Spread your toes wide. Feel your left foot become weightless, as it rises up to rest on your inner thigh. Hands held to heart center. Now breathe……focus your breath on one tiny spot, as you grow your branches tall, taller, reaching to the sky, you are the tree…..breathe….. “
My Practice has become an addiction. Somehow, I cannot go without Yoga. It’s just stretching, right? Oh, so wrong! Yoga is far more than stretching. It is a celebration of, or an affirmation of, respect for self. My time on the mat. Yoga is time that I have consciously chosen to dedicate to my own wellbeing. Time that all else takes a back seat to. I empty my mind, and breathe. Aches and pains go away. Irritating issues and people go away. It all disappears in one, mindful hour of Yoga Practice.
Who’da thunk?
After several months of daily group Yoga hours, I am able to confidently continue my Practice solo, at home, or virtually anywhere. Now that I am spending time up north on the lake, a new favorite place to practice is on the dock at sunrise. 
Oh, what a quasi-cosmic-religious-spiritual experience!
Typically, sunrise is a hauntingly calm time on the water. The lake is almost like glass as the pink and orange horizontal sliver of light slowly evolves into a band, and rises into a hot yellow globe. Above me lingers a beautiful crescent moon, shining bright against the morning sky. To dedicate time to, and witness this glorious beginning of a new day practicing Yoga, somehow fills my being with a sense of empowerment, wholeness and revitalized appreciation of life.
“We’re here now. In the moment. On the dock.”
It is a peaceful, wondrous morning, with Coyote Oldman’s Thunderchord playing in the background, and traveling softly across the lake. There is a light intermittent breeze, just enough to enhance the refreshed feeling throughout several Sun Salutations. An ever so gentle breeze, barely moving the waters. “Halfway lift, exhale and fold, hands on the mat, and downward… facing… dog.”
Warrior Two stance; a position of strength and power. I celebrate the morning like a warrior, ready to deal with whatever comes my way. I have dedicated this practice to my dog, wishing him strength and peace as he deals with cancer. I, too, find peace and strength, on the mat. “Windmill arms to the ground, high to low plank, little cobra, and downward….facing….dog. Breathe in, breathe out. Step to the top of the mat, slowly rise, and position for Tree pose.”
I feel my left foot become weightless, as it rises up to rest on my inner thigh. Hands held to heart center, I breathe……focus my breath on one tiny spot as I grow my branches tall, taller, reaching to the sky, I am the tree…..I am the willow tree…..breathe…..in the moment….we are here now…..
The gust of wind blasted the dock hard, quick and without warning.
Whoaaaaaa, tipping… tipping… trying to hold balance, pull it together as the dock sways hard, and I am tipping…….tipping over, lost balance, tripping over….ooooooooooooooooover and
SPLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I fall sideways into the lake. This tree has crashed.
Cool waters shock me into a new present moment, as I am flailing, thrashing, trying to determine which way is up. Calm down, relax, you know how to swim. This is nothing. I focus on the fact that I am not breathing, and that’s ok, and exhale all of the air from my chest, feeling my body begin to sink, feet first.
My knee bumps something hard.
I realize I am in waist high water. I stand and look down.
Namaste, fishes.
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