In my time spent at Grand Canyon University, I had the pleasure of meeting Gina Tricamo, the best yoga instructor in the whole wide world.
Okay, maybe I'm a little biased. I've really only had two yoga instructors in my life, and one of them didn't even specialize in yoga. She specialized in running and weights, and did yoga on the side. It was a little different. However, considering she was the one who first introduced me to yoga (and Mumford and Sons), I give her credit for being my first yoga instructor.
Last year, I would wake up every morning at 6:10 to brush my teeth, put on yoga pants, take two puffs on my inhaler, and head to the yoga room in the GCU rec center for my hourly morning session. This year, since I am no longer at GCU and am living at home, I have missed my morning yoga routines dearly, but I think it is fair to say I didn't know how much I missed them until today.
But today, I got to see Gina for the first time in probably three months. I almost cried when I saw her, I missed her so much. She welcomed me into her apartment/studio, which is honestly exactly what I want my first apartment to look like. Tile in earthy tones, crown-molding ceilings painted off white with tan walls, eastern-inspired art, candle lanterns with crosses hanging from the ceiling. A simple kitchen in white and Tiffany blue. No television, scarce furniture. Peaceful, open, bright space. It felt welcoming in the absence of the stuffy accouterments you would normally find in a house.
Being on my mat, on the floor in her studio, with peaceful music and the aroma of incense lingering in the air felt like home. It felt like I was becoming who I should be--a peaceful, kind, patient woman--which is far from where I am now.
Today, after the stretching of my back and legs, and testing of my balance, during meditation, Gina talked about the Latin word Beatitudines, which translates somewhere along the lines of "bliss, happiness." Shen then proceeded to read off the famous Beatitudes, from the Bible, in Matthew chapter 5. It was in a different translation than I ever heard (I later figured out it was The Message, which is probably the most literal translation of the Bible), and a few of the verses stuck out to me more than ever before.
You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.You’re blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
I nearly started crying. Those words, those verses, those statements felt as if they were the exact words I needed to hear. No more, no less. Lately, I've been feeling like I am at the end of my rope. I do feel like I've lost what's most dear to me. I've been struggling to be content with who I am. And through yoga today, and meditation, I've come to terms with those things, and I've seen how they can be good. For the rest of the week (until next Friday, when I see Gina again) I'm going to meditate on these three verses, and see what God has to say to me through them.
