Voracious

The grapes popped and exploded with flavor as I crushed down on the handful I had placed in my mouth. I am a voracious eater. I love food and believe handfuls of grapes, popcorn or M&M's taste so much better than eating them one at a time. There is something about the crunch and flavor explosion that cannot be dismissed. Fortunately, I am as voracious an exerciser and do not have a problem with my weight.

Recently, I bought a bag of crunchy red grapes. I pulled off a handful, popped them in my mouth and started to crunch away - then stopped. Something was wrong - something besides grapes was in there. I discovered that a small piece of stem was still attached to every grape - they hadn't severed cleanly from the vine. I wasn't going to be able to pop delightful dozens into my mouth at a time. I was going to have to grab each one off the vine separately, separate the little stem piece and eat them one by one. I did. And guess what? They were delicious that way. One crunchy grape explodes with flavor just as nicely as a mouthful.

In yoga, some students try to do all the poses all out without paying attention to how they feel with each movement, whether they are going too far or whether they can push a little bit more. They don't slow down and listen to their body and back off if something doesn't feel right. They end up frustrated, tired or stressed and strained. They need to focus on each pose and each part of each pose a little more for greater enjoyment and safe stretching.

One by one, not the whole bunch - enjoy!