Yesterday, one of my students referred to my brand of yoga as fun rather than spiritual. Well nama-friggin-ste to that! All this time I've thought myself to be the purveyor of great insights and deep thoughts, the creator of a veritable "eat, pray, love" experience within the confines of a suburban basement. Harumph!
I'll admit my behavior can occasionally be somewhat un-yogic, but there's certainly no reason to call my spirituality into question. Case in point: when I checked my email yesterday while my students enjoyed, thanks to my meticulous instruction, a perfectly aligned downward facing dog, yelling "Oh fuck!" may have, on the surface, seemed somewhat inconsistent with the basic yogic tenets of mindfulness and serenity. But first and foremost, yoga is about being present, in the moment, and at that present moment I was extremely pissed off. Yoga is also about non-violence, and the fact that I didn't punch anyone (or kick a hole in the wall) surely affirms my highly spiritual nature.
The email, though not surprising, was infuriating all the same. It was about hubby's botox queen attorney's eleventh hour cancellation of the already twice cancelled meeting scheduled for today. She was deeply sorry, but she had already made other commitments. Of course she had; what benefit is there to her if we actually move forward with this divorce? At least I don't have to worry about what outfit to squeeze myself into today so I can look hot and intimidating. Ah, hello beloved sweats.
Instead of spending the morning preening for the long awaited introduction to the attorney of my nightmares, I joined a group of wonderful women for a workout in a friend's basement. We didn't do yoga poses, and my body may have been more vigorously taxed than it would have had I attended my usual Thursday yoga class, but it was as soothing as could be. It wasn't really about the muscle flexing, just as in yoga, for me at least, it's not all about the stretching or the chanting. It's about connection, not just with my own mind and body, but with the minds and bodies of the wonderful women in my midst. We laugh our asses off while our bodies are in motion, and somehow, by the time we're done, it's as if everything toxic has been sucked out of us. At least for the moment.
I've never seen any reason to be in temple to feel close to God, and I see no reason to be sitting quietly on a yoga mat to feel closer to Buddha. My spirits are lifted simply by being among people who laugh with me, and no amount of chanting or heavy breathing could improve upon the feeling. (Unless, of course, the heavy breathing is emanating from my fireman friend at Starbucks; more on that another time.)
In most yoga classes, we're instructed to "be with our breath." In my classes, I want us to be with our laughter. Fun and spiritual. Or at least spirited. It don't get any better than that!
Yep, laughter IS the best medicine.
ReplyDeleteYes,laugh!!!
ReplyDeleteThere are times that all that's kept me going since my accident is my sense of humour. It's not that I don't have moments of profound frustration (like when I suddenly can't remember how to operate a parka zipper when we're already late for the cool girl's birthday party) or deep despair. However, for the most part I laugh about my misuse (usually wildly inappropriate) of words,the flying coffee cups and the eye twitches that have old guys at the grocery store winking back.
Someone asked me how I could do that and I said, "Look,I can laugh or I can cry." You don't need an undamaged brain to figure out which is the healthier option.
As for the bitch lawyer, here you can sue if someone is trying to use delay to bankrupt you into giving up or accepting a crap settlement. You should check the laws in your state and tell your lawyer to use every means necessary to get her ass to the table. Remember,while he may go "ah, shucks," all these delays aren't hurting his bill, either. Tell him to get her going or he's fired.