Colorado {50 States of Yoga}

Hot off the Four Corners I cross into Colorado on a crazy tight schedule!  The further along I drove into CO, the more it felt like Colorado!  I know, that seems so silly.. but the elevation kept rising, the mountains got bigger and the snow!  This California girl was not ready for the snow.  I know the Rocky Mountains have snow this time of year, I just hadn't considered that I would be so close to them.  But I was.  Durango is nestled in a little valley of the Colorado Rockies.

I arrived into town, minutes before my yoga class was to begin.  I rushed to the motel, checked in, and entered the yoga studio's name in my GPS.  As I get to the location, I drive around in circles because my GPS doesn't know her left from her right {or maybe I don't - it's tough being a lefty}.  I finally find the place, rush up the stairs and see the door is closed to the studio - Am I late!?!  Nope.  The guy at the desk said I'm a half hour early... the class is at 6pm.  Oh... uh... okay.  I'll be back. 

The time thing just doesn't make sense to me.  I have an itinerary.  I'm pretty good at planning.  I double check said itinerary in the car while I wait, it says 5:30p.  I don't know how I screwed this up.  I have a quick phone call with my husband then head back upstairs to the class.  And realize it is hot.  Too hot.  OMGEE.... is this Bikram Yoga?!?  No.  Something is definitely wrong.  I would not have arranged a Bikram Yoga class for myself... it's supposed to be Gentle Yoga!  Then it hits me... there are 2 studios with the same name in Durango - and my GPS took me to the wrong one.  Oops.  But no.  No Bikram Yoga for me.  I head back to the motel to search for another yoga class for the morning.  I decide that I would rather give up my planned hike the next day at Mesa Verde National Park in lieu of sweating my butt off in Bikram.  And so I buy a medium pizza {which I will spend the next 24 hours eating for every meal}, find myself a morning class and settle in early.

I settled early and slept in late.  I decided upon a noontime class in Durango.  I was in no rush.  I had to be in Albuquerque that night for another class, but that wasn't until 8pm.  The drive between the 2 cities is under 4 hours - so why not give myself a break and sleep in?  Of course there was no way I was sleeping in until noon.. so I headed to downtown Durango and grabbed a cup of coffee at Durango Joe's.  I quizzed the young lady behind the counter - If you had 1 hour to spend in Durango, what would you do?  She said Main Avenue and The Strater Hotel.  The Strater Hotel dates back to 1887 and has a colorful Wild West history.

The Strater Hotel, Durango

As I stood on the opposite street corner taking photos of the old hotel, a man approached me and said, "You know that hotel is full of ghosts."  In a statement - as if I did know.  And so I provoked him.. for more information.  I suspect he may have been a little off center, but it was interesting to talk to him.  He said that he speaks to spirits and that he has talked to many of the spirits in that old hotel, as well as the El Rancho Tavern.  There were lots of gunfights and hard, Wild West deaths in the Strater Hotel, but El Rancho was the real deal.  My new friend said that back in the Wild West days, you wouldn't dare step foot in El Rancho if you didn't know someone in there.  It was certain death.  And then he was gone.  Distracted by something down the street and he went on his way.  I don't know if anything he said is true - but I believe he believed it to be so.

That guy walking... that's my spirit guide!

Nearing noon I head to YogaDurango on the other end of Main Avenue.  There I took an all levels Hatha Yoga class with Sheryl McGourty.  It was packed.  Which.. it always seems to amaze me, that even when a class is full there is still more room.  But yeah, a very full class.  Quite the departure from yesterday's class in Arizona.  But not better or worse - just different.  I've started to realize that there is something to be learned from every class.  And yeah, duh!, but not just a new pose or feeling new-to-me muscles being used... but other stuff.  This class I learned how to enjoy the flow.  How to slow my movements.  Be present in my movements.  Breathe through my movements between poses and flow.  This is a challenge for me.  Not being terribly flexible {yet!} I can't often flow from one pose to the next as smoothly as others... so I am trying to be more aware of my jerky motions and even if I can't flow so smoothly quite yet, I can still breathe through my motions and move slowly and with intention.  Thank you for that lesson, Sheryl.

YogaDurango

In class I also used the strap more to aid me with poses that required grasping or hugging my legs or feet while on my back.... when I can't reach them.  This was a new thing for me.  To just grab the strap and modify a pose on my own to make it work for me.  I definitely am starting to feel more comfortable with my limitations and where I should be pushing more and where I should be honoring my body's voice more.  I felt fine with having to grab the strap to help me with Happy Baby, even though I know I had done it in the past.  I felt good.  I felt like I was getting better about staying present, staying on my mat, and breathing.  Practice, practice, practice! 

And so I said goodbye to Durango.  I headed South on Route 550 towards the New Mexico border.  State # 7 complete.  43 to go.  I got this!  Look out Albuquerque... I'm coming!



Please see the other states from this adventure...
Arizona
New Mexico
...and you can see all my 50 States of Yoga adventures here!