Hello from Provence, France!

Four years ago I was working on my breath training in yoga. I was
also working on balancing out the muscles in my legs and back
strength.

One of the exercises I focused on with my yoga teacher was “half
moon pose”. Using a yoga block I would place it 6 inches in front
of my front foot, which I grounded and stretched my back leg
straight behind me. I would take my arm and stretch it up above me
to open up the chest and stretch out the fascia in my
body.

I could barely hold the pose, and poorly a few seconds at a time.
This was a practice for breathing, balance and strength. When I saw
myself on film it really hit home how far I had to go. Seeing
from another’s point of view really gives
perspective.

I usually practice once a week during my stretching day. To slowly
improve over time, check my progress and remember to breath as I
open the pose.

This week while getting a body weight workout and stretch in, I
took the opportunity in a serene garden in St. Tropez to slow down,
and test my strength and balance.

During the trip i’ve been reading a mental strength book about
letting the subconscious take over while in performance after
trusting your training. Perhaps the two tied together for the
experience. As I opened the pose I focused on a single blade of
grass 6 inches in front of my left foot. I often use a block but as
I get better I go without the block and test my range of motion and
flexibility.

In this case, my hand was mimicking the block position six inches
off ground and as I breathed deeper into the pose I reached farther
for the two inch blade of grass, blocking out all other sound and
surroundings. As I was recently reading in the mental
strength book, some of the best golfers in the world pretend they
are somewhere else between shots. In a Paris cafe, a South
African ranch or favorite mountain town as they walk between holes,
blocking out all surroundings.

I swear time slowed down to microseconds as I reached for the blade
of grass. Maybe it’s just because I had nowhere to go. Holidays
give you that luxury. Being present in the moment, deep focus. It
felt like I held each side up to 30 seconds. Whether it was
that long or not, I took in the opportunity in the
moment.

Sometimes it’s just a moment or a few seconds that make a
difference in your entire day.

Enjoy finding your blade of grass this week!
Colin