Time to dig out people!  This magical gift of Mother Nature has given us a chance to stop, breathe and simply be, for a while.  The opportunity is always there, but there's something about a snow storm that allow many of us to just relax.  But did you relax?  Was your snowed-in experience interlaced or even dominated by thoughts of the things you weren't getting done?  The lost opportunities or the things that "should have been done".  Were you able to enjoy the opportunity and let go of the 'doing' for 1 day.  Bears retreat into their dens for months on end as a necessary part of their basic survival.  The bear energy inside each of us connects to this feeling of hibernation and rest.  This is why you may have made a special grocery store run or stood in line at Blockbuster for 20 minutes, gathering all your supplies for hibernation.  No matter what our minds may tell us about our lack of productivity, our body and spirit feel a sense of wholeness when we can retreat and let go completely.

Did you lose your power in the storm?  Notice the thought that may have just entered your mind...... the recalling of exactly how many hours you were left in the dark.  Why is that important?  Have you shared your tale of woe with any of your friends and family?  What are you filling in yourself by telling people about your 'hardship'?  Temporarily waiting for the power to magically come back on, inside your home that has enough food to last you a month, wrapped in a warm blanket... is this hardship?  Or maybe you saw the power outtage as a rare opportunity to sit by a fire with your loves ones and connect fully to the moment in it's perfection.  However you held it, you were fully in charge of creating that experience for yourself.  And noticing this  reveals a lot about how you see yourself and what you're projecting into the world.

Our 'yoga practice' gives us an opportunity to be present and start noticing our unconscious ways.  The thoughts we have, the movements we make and our emotional responses to our experience... these things are all revealed as we move our bodies on the mat.  The asana practice is just the mode we use to reveal our natural tendencies.  So, what was your snowy weekend practice like? Think about your experience this weekend and notice the things that came up inside you.  From the things you enjoyed and connected with to the triggers and irritations you felt.  They all have equal power to teach you something about yourself.  Life is the practice.  This is the yoga.