Birthday Bonanza to Become a Butterfly

WOW!!! That's really all I can say as I'm still in amazement with the strength and support of my girls class!!!! The Birthday Sun Salutation Extravaganza was amazing, and the girls get so excited about their birthdays that I cannot say no. So today, with 3 birthdays we began our quest to 49--yes 49 Sun Salutations----WOW~!!! Now keep in mind that our Sun Sals are modified--for example--Inhale to upmountain, exhale to utanasana inhale to 1/2 lift, exhale utanasana, inhale right leg back high lunge, exhale utanasana inhale 1/2 lift, exhale utanasana inhale upward mountain exhale anjulai mudra---etc. but let me explain that coming up with 49 modified sun sals was awesome!!!! The girls help--they really try to work the breath--they work the breath more in this setting than in regular class--its the concentration I think--they are inside themselves focused!

Around Sun Sal 30 one of the girls was tired, really tired, and she wanted to quit--went to the guard to quit and one of my bright lights said, come on you can do it we are all tired but it's C's birthday--we are doing these for her. These 16 are for her and don't give up we didn't give up on your 17 Sun Sals last week! This is the beauty of yoga in JDC, in the yoga room, they are all a kula---they are not individuals working these Sun Sals for themselves. Our tired girl finished, she did all 49 Sun Sals and in Savasana, she laid still- stiller than I've ever seen her---she said at the end of class that it was fun and Happy Birthday to C.

The theme was on perseverence--and these beautiful girls showed it. I am humbled at how the 14 girls support each other so that there is perseverence by each girl.

I read a story during Savasana about a man who watched a cocoon as a butterfly tried to emerge--after hours of the butterfly struggling- he cut off the maining cocoon and the butterfly emerged easily out of the cocoon-but what the man didn't know what that the struggle of the butterfly was for a reason --to push the fluid from the buttefly's body into the wings so that the wings will be strong enough to fly and since he cut the cocoon and the butterfly did not have to struggle the butterfly never fully developed and lived with a swollen body and shrivled underdeveloped wings. We must persevere even if we are trying to push ourselves through the small hole of the cocoon--so that when the time is right we can fly. Everyday these JDC girls are pushing through their cocoon--they are becoming beautiful butterflies!!!