Bill practiced yoga for 4-5 years, and was a certified Yoga Fit and Yoga Stretch instructor.
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning Bill would be at the Metro Y in his Run’n’Ride from 5:30 – 6:30, followed by Spinning from 7:15 – 8.00 am. In between he would squeeze a 6.30 am yoga class, for practice, and then around 9.30 he would teach his Yoga Stretch class.
Bill practiced yoga with full attention and focus. His 6.30 am practice class represented his private time, when he was not preoccupied with community building, or encouraging and motivating others. Rather, his private practice represented a challenge to let go of all that, and explore the line between what he wanted to do with his body, and what was truly feasible. His heroic persistence did not always work for him. Some people are just not able to arch into an elegant Downward Facing Dog, a Cobra, or a full Lotus pose. Though quite advanced in his yoga practice, Bill knew when to push, and when to surrender into the Child pose. He could do strong Warriors, but for some reason could not transition from Three Legged Dog into a Lunge in one move. This did not bother him. His yoga was more physical, than spiritual - he would be the first one to admit that. But he liked our yoga rituals, starting with “grounding”, and ending with relaxation (what Bill would call his Snoring pose), and closing with the traditional yoga greeting "namaste”, which roughly translates as “the light in me recognizes the light in you”.
Bill would never leave the yoga room without uttering that greeting. Whether he was aware of it or not, he had thoroughly internalized the "namaste" greeting and all that it meant. His internal light recognized the light in all the people he encountered.
Bill’s yoga friends from Carlson YMCA.
