Snowboarding with Grace
Woo Hoo! I’ve done it! Today was the day it all clicked for me, I can snowboard…finally! This is my third season snowboarding (most seasons consisting of 2 days on the mountain) and today, from the moment I got off the first lift, I was doing it. The initial learning stage is over and I can carve down the mountain. So excited, I can’t even tell you. I’ll just say that I have been walking around all day with perma-grin.
My smiles are not so much for the fact that I can now snowboard, although don’t get me wrong, I am VERY excited about it; but it is also do to the Anusara First Principle, Open to Grace. I think today was the first example where the First Principle has come to light for me so brightly off the mat in my physical life. The concept of Open to Grace and seeing all things as life affirming in aspects such as my attitude, choices and relationships is not so new. Physically speaking, I’m still waiting for a major breakthrough in my yoga as a result of Open to Grace. That is not to say that I have not had any (I get hits of it most days), but I’m talking about being a able to do an awe-inspiring pose, something that seems impossible to the mind. An inversion in the middle of a room is one of the first to come to mind. I guess I should probably work on my inversions against the wall more first.
The teachings from the Anusara Immersion and my (almost) daily practice are really beginning to resonate for me and that is the most exciting thing of all. While snowboarding, I know why I fall when I fall, I understand physically what I need to do to correct my form or what is required to carve down the mountain. Funny thing is, that is exactly what was limiting me, not the knowledge, because that is a necessary part of it, but the fact that that was all I had - I was missing balance. I needed to plug into the Universal (this is First Principle) and create that relationship with what I already knew. I was willing too much (over thinking things) and not surrendering enough. Finding that balance was (and is) a beautiful thing. Today was a true revelation off the mat, and for that, I am thankful.
Tags: Anusara principles, Open to Grace, snowboarding
