To the lady in the front row of beach yoga today…THANK YOU!
This is the year I turn forty. It’s been filled with Facebook posts, surprise parties and escapades of friends experiencing the same milestone. Amidst the happy birthdays and ‘fabulous forty’ posts there comes that dread of ‘oh my goodness-how on earth am I going to be forty?’ If I’m lucky, in just a few weeks, I’ll reach the same milestone as so many of my fellow 1996 university graduates. Here’s hoping the next forty years are filled with as many amazing adventure as the first forty.
Today started as a traveler’s morning in my own town. A morning beach yoga class on the sand at Lafayette Beach provided by Kristen, our beach yoga instructor. This class was bigger than it’s been all summer. A total of twenty-one people ranged in ages from early twenties to late sixties came to greet the day with their toes in the sand and hips in the air.
In the front row were a few newcomers. One young girl, in her late twenties came with her two friends to try out a new exercise regime. She’d never done yoga before and was slightly hesitant but she was ready. New to the world of planks and tree pose, she tried her best and made it through unscathed. Three people down from her was yet another newcomer to the group. She came to class with her friend (who has been coming for years) and this lady made my heart smile the entire hour. I’ve seen her on the boardwalk many times walking with a few of her friends. She has to be in her late sixties if not early seventies.
She plopped her towel and yoga mat in the sand in the front row and introduced herself to Kristen. Not only did she make it through the entire class, but; most of the time she showed all of us up. She had greater flexibility and strength than most of us and when her arm balance of crow pose was up and steady I just had to stop and smile. This woman was fantastic. Nothing fazed her.
Last night I was out to dinner with a long time friend and we talked about this, the year we turn forty. With our ‘driving glasses’ and new grey strands along with random aches we have no idea from where they came, something interesting came out of the conversation. Both of us agreed that we’re finally comfortable in our own skin, and not only comfortable, but happy-truly happy. Amidst the agita and angst of aging there seems to be some inner peace that comes alongside. Who knows if everyone finds it and we’re sure some have made it to this milestone far quicker than us. But, either way-grey or otherwise, we’re here. Erin too has even begun to take up yoga and I may have finally convinced her to come to an anti-gravity class with me.
Just like when our friends started getting married or having kids, this year has been one of which we’ve taken notice. Turning forty is a definite milestone. How is it possible that we’ve been friends for thirty years? How is it possible that another friend of ours has a daughter in middle school? If the woman in the front row is any indication of what life in the next few decades can bring-I think we’re both ready! If we’re lucky, one day we’ll be the two women in the front row of a beach yoga class making someone else smile.
To the lady in the front row of beach yoga today…THANK YOU!
Filed under: Around the World, Beach, Travel, Yoga Practice Tagged: aging gracefully, Beach, friendship, Long Beach, travel, turning forty, yoga 
