My friend Irma (www.peacewithinyou.com) is an incredibly gifted group exercise instructor. I've had the honor of being a "yoga model"for her at three different tapings for home exercise videos.

The first time I did this (about three years ago), it was a no-brainer. I was working out regularly, had dieted down to a great "fighting weight" and it was my favorite class--straight Hatha Yoga.

The next time, was a bit more of a stretch. She had my children in a Kid's Yoga tape, and asked the baby and I to be in a "Mommy and Me" class...something similar to what we had participated in shortly after his birth. This time I wasn't worried about the physical challenge, the class is short and pretty low key, but the post-body in workout gear preserved for all to see? I was able to rationalize that I'd have the (very cute) baby in front of me the whole time, and that there were other Mommy models with their own Mommy body issues there. It ended up being a great day.

Now came the hard one. Irma was short a person for her Yogalates shoot. I don't mind the fusion classes, they're just not my favorite, mostly because after carrying four rather large babies, the sustained Pilates matwork portions are hard. And this time, there would be no cute baby to hide behind.

I did pretty well...I can only hope the camera men were nice to me! I did learn that when you're sustaining a tree pose, it's hard to remain in focus when a camera is thrust in your face! I had to find my focus point and hold it despite distractions. It took all of the discipline I had to maintain the pose during those moments.

I wonder how often in life I am thrown off balance because I forget where to focus?

Lord, help me to keep my eyes fixed on you, the Author and Finisher of my faith, and not the obstacles in my path. Even when it is hard and requires discipline. Even when I don't particularly like what the task at hand is.