All Is Coming.

"All Is Coming" is an expression one of my yoga instructors taught me awhile ago.  Essentially it means that one day the thing you desire or hope for will happen.  This is important in yoga because most yogis strive to achieve certain poses which take time to do, so the idea that all is coming helps with patience.

Back in April I used this mantra several times during my 5 week serious yoga student immersion class.  When I first entertained the idea of doing such a series back in January I was apprehensive and yet curious.  Could I do this level of practice? Knowing who was going to lead the classes I recognized that it was going to be very challenging but at the same time very rewarding.  I knew it would not be easy and at times frustrating, uncomfortable and would leave me feeling sore.  Though after practicing yoga at a certain level for two years I knew in January I needed to take my practice to the next level.  I needed a challenge and a push to help me get to a level where I wanted to be, where I could entertain some higher level postures without feeling defeated. So when I heard about this immersion series, where for once a week for five weeks I'd get a glimpse of what yoga teacher training looked like, I knew this is what would take my practice to the next level.  But at the same time I was freaked out because what if I couldn't keep up with the class? What if I couldn't do the poses? What if I failed? What if?

For those who know me, I play the what if game anytime there is uncharted territory and all my what ifs are negative, leaving me imagining worst case scenarios.  Yet this time something inside of me said if I didn't take the risk I'd regret it. So I signed up and made a commitment. The weeks leading up to the first class I imagined what the class was going to look like; I imagined best case scenarios, like me getting into full wheel and crow. Imagined worst case scenarios like being forced to do a head stand (this scares me to death by the way). I imagined not being able to keep up.

On my first night I told myself that I was going to try to do everything I possibly could.   was going to repeat All Is Coming when my body couldn't twist and bend a certain way, and I was going to have fun. I got to class early, set up my mat and my journey began. Within a few minutes I knew I had arrived and was apart of something so special.  Everyone was in the same mind set; we were all here to learn. We were a community of serious yogis. It was so cool. By the end of the first class, where I had never worked so hard in a yoga class before, where I was attempting moves and holding plank for what seemed like forever (30 seconds.  Don't laugh, you try it and see how you do.) I felt so elated that I did it. I survived and I couldn't wait to come back.

On my last night, when we were all done, laying in Savasana, I realized I didn't master any of the poses I thought I would and I was never forced to do head stand but rather encouraged to try. Even though what I expected to happen didn't I realized that wasn't the point of the course.  The point was to realize my limits, stop beating myself up when I couldn't do something, and lastly how to be mindful while on my mat.  One day I'll master the poses, but that isn't the point.  The journey is the point.  And knowing that All Is Coming keeps me going.