flowing water

I love the rain. The calming sound of rain hitting the roof. The sound of water flowing in a little stream down the driveway. The smell of a spring rain when everything seams so alive and fresh.

I recently realized that with the exception of one place I have always lived somewhere near a major river. The exception was Lubbock, TX, which is practically in the desert (which might be one reason why I didn't like living there). This is relevant because I am an Aquarius, the water bearer. (Aquarius is actually an air sign.) Water's ability to flow around or over or even under any obstacle is something that I am trying to achieve. How many times have I been in class and the teacher says "the next pose is (fill in the blank). My first thought might be "Oh I hate this pose" or "This pose never works out well for me" or "Not again!" Of course I wold never reveal this during class or probably even after for that matter, but wouldn't it be nice to just say "OK, lets take things as they come and learn from it." This has been my approach lately and it's worked out fairly well, I think.

The ability to go with the flow and not put up damns or have to build a bridge to go over the flow of life is what yoga tries to teach us. When I really became interested in yoga I would read about "taking yoga off the mat". I had some trouble figuring out what that meant, recently I have been able to take the lessons "go with the flow" off my mat. One other kernel of insight that I have been able to use to my advantage is that the pain and extreme effort is only temporary but to realize your true potential you will need to go threw the uncomfortable to get to the bliss. Knowing that things that seam bad are going to improve and that you might come to the other side of the pain with a new understanding and appreciation for your new strength and ability may make the lessons learned more worth while.