A quick recap - I asked my friends to gift me with challenges for my 42'nd birthday. And boy did they come through.
My friend Sarah gave me 42 individual challenges, and I managed to knock off one of them this week.
I was giving compliments to people, but they werent really spontaneous. Quite forced, in fact. With the goal of knocking off one of the challenges from my list. So these werent from the right place in my heart or mind.
Until after yoga class last Sunday. I was in Vancouver on a course, so I was not at my usual yoga studio - in fact I was completely somewhere new. The class was great, the teacher was amazing. She was not one of these lithe, slight yoga teachers - she was a solid girl and I was SO HAPPY that finally there was a REAL BODY teaching yoga.
And her class was just so inviting and inclusive.
She started with: If lying on the floor in shavasana for 75 minutes is the prize you give to yourself for just showing up at 8am on a Sunday morning - go for it.
How can you not love that??
Throughout the class, there was a lot of time to just stretch and relax. I especially enjoyed how she encouraged us to relax our faces - I have trouble with tension in my face - so this was perfect for me.
I had to leave the class early, because I had to get some breakfast before getting to my course. Breakfast was a delicious, buttery bagel. As I was munching away, walking to the hotel where the course was being hosted, walking towards me was the yoga teacher!
In an instant, I reached out to her, with a buttery hand, and said through a bagel mouth: I loved your class this morning, you're such a great teacher!
I didnt get a photo of her or the yoga, but here is the bagel that was occupying my attention before the compliment was given.
So:
Give a compliment, in the moment, and make it a real one.
Mission Accomplished!