Part Six

The snow melted and the spring sun brought the field aside their home back to life. Wildflowers swayed in the gentle breeze and filled the air with a light fragrance. Suzy looked out over the field and felt inspired to head outside for a bit. She picked up her mat and gear, leaned down and kissed Steve on the cheek as he busily worked on his latest book, and headed out the front door.

She found her way to the steppingstones they had laid when the fields were low and walked to a small platform that they built at the high spot in the field. It was a serene location with 360-degree views of their property and their neighbors, along with sight to the mountains. She unrolled her mat and put a small strip of extra padding down for her knees.

She took in a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders as she exhaled. She looked at the house and saw Steve’s head bowed down working steadily. She refocused on her stance and started to move through her sequence.

She first moved into her Cat-Cow combination. Her knees revealed it had been a bit since she had practiced. The extra padding helped at least. She moved into down dog and stretched back, feeling the tightness in her legs begin to loosen.

She continued moving through to a standing position and came into Warrior II. Her balance swayed as she struggled to keep her footing. Finally, she was able to stabilize and move into triangle, but she remained unsteady. She started to move into side angle, then her being out of practice became apparent. She lost her ability to stand and landed on her butt.

Instinctively, she quickly sat up and looked around hoping no one saw. Well, making sure Steve didn’t see. She looked back at the window where he had been sitting, but he wasn’t there. She sighed in relief and stood back up, backing up to Warrior II to start the sequence again.

She struggled to get through, but finally moved on to chair, then folded over and moved into the floor positions. By now, she was sweating. It was something that amazed her; nothing in the sequence was too difficult, but she always found putting it together would cause her to get warm.

Finally, she approached the end of the sequence and Savasana, her favorite part in the practice. She stretched out and relaxed her body. As she came back to paying attention, she looked at the sky and decided to keep laying there a few more minutes watching the puffy clouds and enjoying being in the field.

The sound of steps came from behind her. A shadow cast across her as Steve kneeled down at her head and gently kissed her. Then she felt a chill on her shoulder. Steve had slipped a cold water against her skin and she jumped, then laughed. “Why, I oughtta!” she exclaimed as she sat up and turned towards him.

“Oughtta what?” he retorted with an impish smile as he set down a small basket on the platform. “I thought you could use a bite to eat. Can I join you?”

Her shock at the cold water faded and her face changed into a smile. She slid back on her mat to give him room to join her. “What did you bring us?”

He pulled out a few items from the basket – cheese, grapes, crackers, some dried meat. He hesitated a moment, then he pulled out two small bowls, one full of sweet gherkins and for dessert, some strawberries.

Suzy’s eyes lit up. “My favorites!”