yoga'ing with my best friend.

i have met some really amazing people both on and off the mat. my friends who i have met on the mat are some of the truly most amazing and inspiring people. they are also the people who GET me & support these whacky dreams of mine. however! i do have to say the same about my friends off the mat - my friends who have known me before i began my relationship with yoga and during some of my most darkest times.

my best friend from off the mat is the sweetest little heart named george. i met him when i was twelve and an awkward seventh grader. (we're now 27). he's my absolute soulmate, life partner (even though he lives with his partner and their puppy) and my traveling companion. we've lost parents together, we've cried together and we've challenged one another. but with yoga, george gets it, but never really GOT it. we have gotten into arguments over the past few years regarding the amount of time i spend doing yoga, which to him, is time i should be spending with him (ah, jealously at its finest!). he pokes fun of me here and there, and i take it. i do not expect my off the mat friends to understand why i spend so much time doing yoga, because sometimes i find it hard to explain why i do.

about a year ago, george finally gave in and went to a few classes at a midtown studio. he asked me to go with him, as he was nervous as a beginner. completely honored and so excited that an off the mat friend was going to try yoga, i went VERY willingly. to our surprise, the teacher placed us on opposite sides of the room, and i saw the disappointment and terrified look on his face. it took him awhile to return back to that studio, and eventually he stopped returning altogether.

just a few weeks ago he announced he was taking classes at the beautiful and soulful laughing lotus. all on his own he picked this studio and made this decision. he took his first class there (a lotus flow class) without me, and spoke to me after on a complete yoga high. he was hooked! he wanted to me to go with him. yes! i will! my favourite studio!

this week i placed my mat next to his for the same lotus flow class he took the week earlier. before class began the questions came as i was warming up - "what's a happy baby?" "what's a harmonium for?" pointing to a ganesh he said, "i want one of those for my apartment! what is it?!". as class began and i saw the tempo for the class - which was very sweaty, said in a lot of sanskrit & flowy, i felt a little worried for the beginner who was next to me, whose mat i placed in the second row despite his "i need to be in the back row to watch!" wishes. but immediately, this 'beginner' who knows very little about doing yoga was mirroring me when he did not understand a sanskrit pose and doing one legged chaturungas and side angle binds ~ all poses i have been working on for the past four years and JUST beginning to make progress in.

after class was over, george told me how "proud" he was by what i am capable of doing in class. i looked at him dumbfounded... "are you kidding me? do you see what you're doing next to me? you're a natural!" he floated home. tonight, we met back at the studio for a level I class. "i need to work on my basics and you need to work on your alignment!" were the words he said to get me to go with him. as we began the sound of om and chanting the teacher student om shanti shanti shanti mantra, i heard his voice loud and proud. i peeked my eyes open to glance over to find him sitting namaste, with a buddha smile on his face, at peace. being.

class wasn't the easiest, but he flowed along. i saw the sweat pouring off of both of us and could not help but he proud to share my personal practice with someone who is such a light in my life. at one point during hanumanasana pose, our teacher told us to look around the room and find someone who inspires us in this pose and to focus on their energy. struggling to find comfort in this pose, george looked at me. his eyes said it all. he found inspiration. he found the light.

i could not be more happier or proud. seeing someone grow into a yoga practice is beautiful. seeing a skeptic of yoga believe in yoga is beautiful. as we walked out of the studio together to grab a cup of tea he said, "teaching yoga is hard, but life is hard, and you're strong, so i know you can do it". as he looks at me for inspiration, he is my inspiration to teach. to place my mat in front of strangers and preach what i practice.

love & light,

m

[as a sidenote, he is now the owner of a 30 class package at laughing lotus with a heavy desire to practice twice a week. i am so excited for us to take a legendary dana flynn class together!]