Yoga Mat = Life

Tuesday night at yoga the room was packed. Like, move your mat over so some jerk who is 5 minutes late can squeeze in kind of packed. I was squished between one middle aged lady with a huge engagement ring and an older lady wearing a Wheatsville Co-Op shirt.

For those of you who do not know, yoga involves extending your body far beyond the reaches of your allotted mat space. So, when the room is packed you encroach on other people's space. Usually everyone will adjust a little to give the folks around them the maximum space. Not on Tuesday.

I am uber socially conscious and restricted my movements so I didn't even get close to Ring Lady and Wheatsville Chick. I didn't fully extend, I didn't fully twist, and I certainly didn't reach my potential. They however, had their feet on my mat at some points and their heads uncomfortably close to my crotch. My arms were bent and awkward to not interrupt them as they fully extended swan dove to the floor like angels. My leg extensions were at 25% so they had room for 100%.

I went into savasana (basically quiet time) annoyed that they didn't make room. Then, I thought, I didn't make them. I gave up so much of myself that I let them take what they wanted to make them comfortable. Then I thought, this room is not big enough for everyone to have their own space for everything. Some other person in this room did the same thing I did and was laying there unsatisfied. And, we had to. We had to sacrifice so that other people could do their thing. If we had all taken all the space we wanted, people would have gotten hurt. The world needs people who sacrifice their own happiness and potential so that others can be comfortable.

But next time, it's my turn to swan dive and stretch and push myself. Ring Lady and Wheatsville Chick take note, I won't always let you have your space. Sometimes, just sometimes, I take what I need.