Sidewalk Yoga (Used from Yoga Journal)

You know that I'm a yoga teacher. I've taught for nearly seven years, and teaching has provided many things to me: confidence, income, authority. Even more importantly I've received tools I've needed to help me slow down to enjoy life more, and judge myself less.

When I started blogging, I thought I would write frequently about yoga. But I don't actually think I've written about it even once. Today, I'm not going to personally write about it either because I've found someone who shares my exact sentiment. So I am going to share with you, this shortie I am copying from the magazine Yoga Journal. I haven't asked them permission, and I hope they don't sue me or get grumpy with me. Because for the record, I do not make any money off of this site, and furthermore, I hope that this snippet will encourage you to go out and get a copy (or a subscription) yourself of Yoga Journal! (Now the drawing above is actually mine, though!)

Just like you, I often have hard time finding time to fit all of the things into my day that I want, especially yoga. That's why I love this article: finding ways to fit some peace in our real life, even while walking down the street.

Sidewalk Yoga - A New Yorker finds peace on the street. by Sara Little

A remarkable quality that many New Yorkers share is the ability to move at top speed. Shortly after moving to Manhattan, I found myself brumbling at slow walkers and quickly zigzagging around them on sidewalks like a seasoned city dweller. Then one day I noticed a billboard that read: "Where are you going?" I was floored by the simplicity of the question. I was going to yoga class - at a blurring pace, as usual, but I wasn't even late. In an instant I recognized a conflict with my practice: I was violently throwing one foot in front of the other with a scowling mind, oblivious to the world, annoyed with people who had every right to walk comfortably as I went to my class, where I expected to find peace and relaxation on my mat.

I committed to practicing sidewalk yoga, which for me was a way of mindfully practicing ahimsa (nonharming) with myself an others. Walking became a meditation that immediately led to other revelations. Because I chose to focus on slowing down, I became witness to the miracles happening all around. A man in an expensive suit helping a young mother carry a giant stroller down the subway steps. Concerned passersby stopping to pick up oranges that had rolled off a fruit vendor's cart. And old man quickly pulling a child back on the sidewalk as a car ran a red light. Kindness everywhere, in this city of fast walkers. I learned to appreciate the yoga of each moment, the yoga that occurs when we are in the world with open eyes and light feet.