When you roll out your yoga mat in a community class try to let go of any preconceived notions of what will happen in that class. If at the beginning of the class the teacher asks, "what would you like to work on?", try to not answer if you are typically the first person to shout out a request. This one time try to be quiet and still. Listen to the requests of the other students and go along with the flow of the class. Sometimes we can't see our own problems clearly and the requests of others might be exactly what you needed to practice today. As students we often put our trust in the teacher leading the class and we let go of control, for a little while.
I'm a type-A person that likes to be in control but when I roll out my yoga mat in a class I rejoice in the ability to be a student again, to put my teacher hat aside. To open and allow this gifted teacher to shift my perspective, to open my heart in the poses and create space for me to breathe. When we allow this shift to happen, when we let go and allow the class to unfold in front of us we are then open to experience compassion and gratitude. By freeing our minds of the blocks that normally hold us back; the restlessness, anxiousness, the boredom. We open ourselves to ourselves.
