I taught an indoor cycle class for another instructor earlier in the week. I always check in with everyone in the room and ask new people to identify themselves so I can give them tips and check them out on the bike. One young lady told me she was new. I felt her uneasiness and asked if she was a little nervous. She admitted she was but also very excited about being there. Taking this cycle class had always been on her bucket list and she was finally here to check it off the list.
Wow. I had to pause for a few seconds and think about that one. Bucket list: a list of things one hasn't done that they want to do before they "kick the bucket"! Typically people have things like climb the Great Pyramids or walk the Great Wall of China. I hadn't come across anyone with cycle class on their list. Then I thought - how cool - I get to be a part of this very special moment in this person's life. She commented how serious everyone in the class always looked and how they would come out of class soaked with sweat from head to toe. It was a fear she wanted to conquer.
So, I encouraged her, gave her some tips and started the music and the ride. Part way into class I thought she might like to have this recorded so I asked if she would like me to take her picture with her phone so she could savor the memory. She was delighted and smiled for the camera through her grimace.
At the end of class she was practically jumping up and down with delight that she had survived and I was so thrilled to have been a part of a bucket list kicking.
The same thing happens in yoga class. People see poses and either dismiss it as something they will never be able to do or consider it as a possibility some day and put it on their "list".
What's on your list? Do you even have a list? What is stopping you from doing the things you know would have you jumping up and down - silently inside or physically outside?
Take the first step - the year and the week are young and the moment is now.
