Precision is important

Lately I've been taking yoga classes with an Anusara specialist who teaches in her Union Square loft. This teacher has very acute alignment-spotting skills and is direct and matter of fact in correcting wayward form. She was recently quoted in the New York Times as saying "Precision is important." I think she was embarrassed by that prosaic statement, but it has stayed with me. It's so simple, just three words, easy to remember, and really the core of what I need to focus on in yoga--and in life. Anyway, I've been enjoying this class, and at first I was perplexed by my determination to be there every Monday. Yes, she's a good teacher, and, yes, it's helping me, I think, to do yoga more safely, and, maybe, my back feels a little bit better, and Mondays are convenient for me. But it's more than that. Last Monday I looked around and realized that every single one of the 10 or so other students had gray hair or hair that was clearly dyed to cover the gray. I had never noticed before how OLD my fellow students were. Usually I'm the oldest person in any yoga class I take. But in this class, it's possible that I'm the youngest. And I had never noticed because these elderginis are so strong and adept and alive. What a relief! Hovering, unspoken, in the back of my mind had been the fear that someday I might be too old for yoga. Not.