Aparigraha, part deux

What mystery there is to the way things unfold. Just Sunday I was grieving a little and having a hard time letting go of disappointment at having missed a deadline for a training opportunity, and 36 hours later, I had not only been accepted but enrolled and ready to start. I had never been sure about completing my 500 hour RYT certification requirements-- the 200 hour level seemed enough for the time being-- and the program I just completed has a 500 hour level but it is very expensive, with lots of travel and the expenses associated with that. While I wanted to get more training so that I could take my yoga teaching to a higher, deeper, and wider place, I couldn't see the way.

Then I just happened to visit the web site of Rolf Gates, whose Meditations from the Mat I have been reading for the last year and a half, either picking from it for my classes or now, reading from start to finish. I saw that he is leading a program in Virginia Beach that started this past weekend and continues for several three-day weekends until early June 2011. After a few emails between his wife Mariam and me, (and paying tuition in full- yikes!) I am joining the program. I will have a lot of work to do to catch up, I think, but the opportunity is a great one-- the program is designed around preparing teachers to run workshops and seminars and use the practice of yoga in every aspect of life, not just on the mat, which is where I am headed anyway! I have always wanted to be a community leader, in my own way, and this is a great chance for me to accomplish that.

What's funny is that I was feeling a little down about having missed the deadline and thinking I had forfeited an opportunity, when actually, I was right where I needed to be. Instead of being discouraged, I sent the email, made the request, and my request was answered. Amazingly, checking out all the dates, all of them fit in with what I already had planned, so no changes were necessary. It seemed I was right where I needed to be. In November and December, when most people likely enrolled, I had not yet received my 200 hour certification, so I would not have been ready in that way, nor was I mentally in a place to take on another long training. Yet another instance when letting go of limiting thought patterns and having patience creates possibilities for wonderful things to happen.

Aparigraha-- letting go. This is my word for the year!

There are some other things I am letting go of, and I will talk about them later. Namaste.