108 and I felt great!

I had the fabulous experience of being part of a yoga community yesterday that participated together in 108 sun salutations. I doubt I have ever done more than 12 in one day before, so the idea of doing 108 was a bit overwhelming at first. But as I listened to the wonderful spiritual leaders as we embarked on this quest, I released the struggle and was able to embrace the exercise.

We did the 108 sun salutations in 4 sets of 27 - my favorite number. In the first set, we were directed to focus on "what breaks our hearts" - as Andrew Harvey had just spoken about. He suggested that contemplating what breaks our hearts will provide insight on our purpose in life, and I appreciate his perspective on this. What came to me - as I moved into a meditative state while staying in continuous motion - is the notion that so many people live mediocre lives and don't realize they have a choice for more. Those people that do everything they were taught to do, followed all the "rules" and created the life they thought they wanted - only to realize that something's missing. It breaks my heart to see people who've stopped dreaming - especially parents - because they're teaching their kids by example to stop dreaming as well.

Moving on to the next 27 sun salutations, we were instructed to focus on one person each round. As I moved through my family and friends, employees and peers, I felt an overwhelming amount of love and appreciation for all of those in my life. I wanted to keep going as I thought of more and more people to praise with my movements, but alas, we were asked to move on.

In the third round of 27, the spiritual leaders brought us back to ourselves. To acknowledge and love ourselves so that we may be better people and build a better world in response. Then the final round took us through appreciation for 27 different parts of our bodies. It was incredible!

And then we danced, and the energy in the evening air was palpable! I could feel it reverberating in the space we were in, and for a moment before I left, I soaked it all in - bathing my soul and spirit in the energy that was shared in that sacred space.

I look forward to doing it again someday, and sharing the experience with someone else.

Namaste. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.