Childhood limbs and wide-eyed wonder
I went to yoga last night for the first time in a couple weeks. It seems I go in sputters and spurts, then get busy with other life happenings and slack off for a while until my body starts reminding me how much I miss it. The heat, the sweat, the dissolving of all other aspects of life for 90 minutes while you immerse yourself in pure bodily sensations - stretchings and burnings, creakings and groanings. With sheer determination working your way through beautiful contortions you never imagined you could do, stretching molding the body as if it were clay. Then to come out the other side drenched in sweat but nothing short of blissful.
My seven-year-old came with me last night and we did the floor series together. Of course I'm bursting with motherly pride as we go through the poses and she pulls them off with ease. When it came time for the camel 
though, I was a little concerned. Maybe it's because it's one of the most difficult poses and as an intense and complete backward bend, can be dangerous if you do it wrong.
I whispered a little caution to her as I creaked and groaned myself into the pose, only to turn my head a little toward her and see that she was effortlessly and deeply in the position already. I did a double take and about fell out of the posture as I whipped my head around toward her. While I have a hard time getting my own short arms to grab my heels, she was bending so far backward her head was touching the floor. And what's more, she was giggling with pride as she saw the look of shock and surprise on my face... and nobody giggles in camel pose!
It started me thinking... as adults we have gained so much knowledge and understanding of the big wide world, but we have lost so much in the process. Most of us, along with loosing the flexibility of childhood limbs loose the open hearted wonder and curiosity at the world, the wide-eyed imagination, the sense of a great mystery hovering in every shadow, under every curious leaf. The sense of awe at a budding spring flower, a worm in the driveway or a bird perching on the window sill. We loose a sense of connection with the body, and the joy of uninhibited movement.
It's not that these things are lost forever, we just have to reclaim them and consciously begin look at the world with the eyes of a child once again. It's not always easy as adult pressures and responsibilities weigh heavily on our backs, but it's worth it. I'm not saying I'll be giggling in camel pose next yoga class, but I'll let the awe of living and the wonders of the Mystery wash over me as I look wide eyed into the beautiful world full of worms and flowers and bright yellow birds on my window sill. And I'll enjoy my yoga bliss and the feeling of admiration and pride I have for my little girl who is teaching me so much about life.
