Open Your Heart?!

Every now and then I get a very private yoga class.

Twice a month Ian and I have been going down to the State Library of Queensland in Brisbane and attending Mother and Baby Yoga classes in the Childrens' Corner there.  (Brisbane ROCKS!)

Sometimes none of the babies are interested and we end up focusing on the mommies while the babies safely toddle around the play area.

This leads to some very long poses.

Eyes closed.

Muscles slowly relax.

The body - and mind - move to where they are meant to as they follow (subconsciously sometimes) the instructor's spoken suggestions.

"Now bring all that tension deep inside yourself."

What?  Wait a minute.  Aren't we releasing and untensing?  Aren't we letting it all GO?

"Bring all the negative feelings, the bitterness, the frustration, the anger, the unhappines, discomfort, whatever is bothering you, into your core."

Uh lady.  Aren't we supposed to get GETTING RID OF those things?

"Bring them into your core, into your inner heart, into yourself, so that you can deal with them and then let them go."

Oh.

I'd never heard that before.

It comes back to me now, months later, because I am going to try to do just that with my anger over the next few weeks.  I am going to accept it and let it in instead of exposing it and spewing it all over the place.  (You're welcome!) 

Releasing it into the universe isn't making it go away.  I'm not a "forget about it" kinda gal.  (As if that wasn't patently obvious!)  Let go?  Who am I kidding?

Maybe bringing it into my heart and accepting it will help.

Funny thing is, that when I told my instructor how much her words had meant to me, and how different I found them from what I usually hear at yoga, she told me that she didn't remember saying them.

"Sometimes I just go into this place and the words come from their own, almost as if they are meant to be heard by a specific person in the class."

Open my heart.

Oh God, I really am sixteen again.  Now I'm singing Madonna songs!