dedicated to dave.

i'm sure a number of yogi's would agree that it is important to set an intention or dedication of your time and energy at the beginning of each yoga practice:

some days my intention is to be open. some days it is to find myself more grounded. some evenings my intention is to simply let go of my day. for quite some time after a friend was involved in a near-fatal accident, i dedicated every ounce of energy i exchanged to his strength and recovery. and before i settle into class i intend to be present in my breathe and in every bit of stillness i can find.

today is a really important day to my family. it marks another year having passed since my cousin passed away of cancer. if you knew my cousin Dave, you know how fast these eleven years have gone by and that the huge and awesome impact he made on the people around him is likely one of many reasons why it feels like he was just here yesterday. i was a young sixteen when Dave passed away, but feel more impacted in recent years by his passing. maybe because marcus is close to the age that Dave's son was when he passed away. maybe just a coming-of-age kind of thing.

so today i re-arranged my day so that i could do a yoga class. and when i set my intention/dedication today, i just thought of Dave and quieted all my outside thoughts. it was a really emotional class for me. i didn't take my breathe or space or stillness for granted. i was more present than ever. it was one of the best hours of yoga i have done yet. i finished the class literally in sweat and tears.

and just before saying namaste, our instructor mentioned quietly that today more than ever she felt a very present and awesome energy in our class. and i totally knew it had something to do with Dave and i. and i smiled and it took up my whole face.
it was the perfect way to end a really important day.

-kare