I should have had a little birthday party for “Yoga with Eve Grzybowski” last week, as I completed my 700th blog post. Woo-hoo! I can hardly believe it myself that I have been this regular for so long. There was even an earlier incarnation in my blogging career called “The Ville” where I cut my teeth.
I want to share what I’ve learned through my writing and especially in this latest endeavour of Yoga Sutra study.

1. It’s okay to write vulnerably. As a yoga teacher, I’ve climbed down from the pedestal and people still respect me. In fact, I’ve noticed that vulnerability attracts respect.
2. It’s really okay to sit at the keyboard not knowing what to say. In fact, sometimes it’s better because my heart gets to speak when my head is empty.
3. It’s definitely okay to incorporate my ordinary experiences that come from life in this little backwater of Mitchells Island. There are universal themes that seem to sprout up right out of our gardens and woods.
4. And, the most important thing I’ve learned practising in the Yoga Shed, studying at Patanjali’s knee, and communing with friends, students, and my writing audience is the value of presence. I may fall short of the mark of being fully aware at all times; however, as the saying goes, I’m only human.

Each thought and impression I have creates an action which leads to further thoughts and impressions. But by paying careful attention, by analysing events as I live them, there’s an opportunity to avoid certain pitfalls.
Sati mule tadvipako jatyayurbhogah
As long as the obstacles prevail they will affect action in every respect: in its execution, its duration and its consequences.*
*Patanjali’s Yogasutras, translation and commentary by T.K.V.Desikachar