Today is just as it should be

A beautiful morning today. Cycling in to work was the perfect way to start the day, a crisp breeze to prevent the usual stickiness of summer cycling, coupled with the feeling of sun on my skin. What I love about cycling is the movement; it is great for bringing me into the now, and I get a reel sense of presence when I am on my bike.

I especially love bringing my attention to my skin, the feeling of the wind on my arm, my hairs tickling the skin; the dappling of sunshine and shade, hot and cool as I move and the low morning sun appears and disappears behind buildings. Then there is my muscles slowly waking up after a long and restful night's sleep, stretching and working to the rhythm of the bike. Visually, cycling in London is a feast, you have to be looking everywhere, watching for hazards, traffic lights, glancing the green trees that line many of the roads on the trip. Everything is happening and you can see it, hear it, feel it, even smell it. And there is no time to think, not if you are busy feeling, seeing and cycling!

I find it is this kind of meditation, presence, consciousness (whatever you want to call it), that I am drawn to most, and I feel it gradually and powerfully beginning to permeate everything I do.

Another example is last night in yoga class. I found I had preconceptions of what I wanted from the class. I did not realise this until my teacher mentioned that we would be working on inversions. I suddenly felt my body become tense, and emotion rising within me, but instead of letting it ruin my class, I lay there, in savasana, and observed the reaction within myself. And you know what, I am really starting to enjoy experimenting with the handstand, and I am convinced that the class was just as it should have been.