yoga saves the day

How does yoga help us through traumatic events? Here’s my story:

For those of you who are not dog owners, imagine seeing your child run into the street while there’s a truck barreling down the road. That’s what it felt like to me 7 years ago when a stranger walked up and scared my dog so terribly that she pulled the leg off the bench her leash was tethered too and took off down the street. I was frantic, I bolted after her but before I had reached the end of the block she was out of site. We lived just a few blocks down the street so I knew that’s where she was heading but I couldn’t get there, I was crippled by shock, I wanted to melt into the side walk and weep. Halfway up the next block I did sort of, I was confused and hopeless. I knew she would have made it home already but what would she do when no one was there? I stopped running started hyper ventilating a stranger snapped me out of it when she came from the direction my dog ran off in and asked “was that your dog?” I didn’t answer I started running again but awkwardly through my heaving sobs. When I made it to the house I saw her leash wrapped around the gate post, she must have gotten caught and then broke free and, I can only imagine, furthering her panicked state. When I wasn’t there to open the door she must have taken off again. She was gone for 3 days, the worst 3 days I’ve ever had. Just before dawn on day 4 I woke to scratching at the back door, she had come home. Happy ending. So where’s the yoga?

A week ago I was out with my dog for our morning walk, we we’re coming through the park where there is nice bit of lawn and trees in the back behind some picnic tables. I often let her off her leash so she can sniff around; there is rarely anyone at the park that early. But that day there was. I didn’t see the two other dogs running towards mine until it was too late. I saw her tuck her tale under and quicken her step, I called to her but as the dogs got closer she bolted down the alley. I knew the other two dogs wanted nothing more than to play but to a dog that has been lost once and attacked by strange dogs more than once her fear took over and she bolted. This is our morning ritual so she knew how to get home and being only a few blocks away I had no doubt that’s where she was headed so I took off too. And here is where yoga made all the difference. Unlike seven years ago I wasn’t crippled by shock or grief, not in the least. In fact, being so trusting of my body and its capabilities I simply let my instincts take over. My spine straightened, my legs and arms pumped in perfect unison my breath was deep and quick but most what struck me the most was the calmness I had. Everything just dropped out of my mind somewhere deep within me I knew that if I could keep her in my site everything would be ok. In meditation they talk about having a single pointed focus, to train the mind to ignore distraction and rein in on one thought, usually the breath. That is one of the main reasons in yoga class we constantly return to the breath. Yoga can be seen as a moving meditation as well as a preparation for deep completive meditation. It prepares the body for hours of sitting in one position and all thoughts other than the breath have been dismissed. Now I am not a great yogi and my meditation practice leaves much to be desired but in those few moments of what was once a panic I saw how far I had come with my practice. And what a gift it brought me, I caught up to my frightened pooch and sat with her in the road until she was calm enough to walk home. Once we got there we sat in the middle of the house and I stroked her until she let go of her own panic and went calmly and exhaustedly to her favorite spot under the table and went to sleep. I sat there and watched her and marveled at the situation. Yoga gave me two amazing gifts that morning; one: the knowledge that no matter how stagnant I feel in my practice I am growing and two: my furry four legged child is still safely in my life.

Hitting a Stride

Over the past year I have been trying to integrate running into my life. I love yoga! I love how it has transformed my body, regulated my hummingbird-like metabolism and brought calmness to my mind. The only thing I don’t get from yoga is cardio. Sure I could power my way through a killer vinyasa workout, but I won’t. I like my practice quiet. So I was in search for a way to mingle cardio into my life, running seemed the most accessible so that’s what I’ve been trying. But like all new things I approached it like a yogi, with appreciation, respect and enjoyment. You can practice yoga for purely physical reasons, even see results but you’ll only be getting a slice of a much bigger and more fulfilling whole. And its my personal belief that if you approach anything without respect chances are you will get hurt and most likely be disappointed too. And the same is holding true with running. I appreciate the improvements running has made to my health and I respect it for all the good, if I approach running carelessly it can do greater harm than good. So once I grasped appreciation and respect the enjoyment came easily. I get to be outside in this glorious spring and when I’m really lucky I get to have an awesome four legged companion by my side. And this all started to fall into place in the past few weeks, I settled into my stride you might say. In fact I was writing an email and used the phrase, hitting my stride, to describe a sewing project I’m working on. So running has not only worked its way into my exercise regiment but also into my lingo. And that got me thinking. Not only have I found a running stride and a sewing stride and even a yoga stride but I think I’ve found a life stride. At least a stride for this little stretch of my life. I’m settling into my house nicely, working out my morning routine, finding time to walk the dog every day, tackling this sewing project and even developing potential for a new business venture. And it feels great! I don’t do the same things everyday or in the same order but there’s a rhythm to it and more importantly there’s a purpose. It feels like a life sized version of an amazing yoga class. The kind of class where the rhythm of the breath takes over and the flow from asana to asana is seamless. Your citta vrtti (mind chatter) quiets there’s fluidity within you and all around you. If I were a surfer I would liken it to a long effortless ride on a beautiful wave ( I visualization I use in class). I don’t know how long this ride is going to last but I am keenly aware of every moment I’m in it and extremely grateful for every moment longer that it last. It also seems this smooth stride has brought its own tool for longevity. It has brought the ability to deal with obstacles as simple stones in the road. When spotted they can be easily side stepped and when not seen and possibly tripped on or stumbled over, my stride is so well established that it takes mere moments to recover. And this is a tool I hope to hold on to no matter how long my stride stays strong. Running is something I never thought I’d do but yoga has a way of melting down any preconceived notions we have about ourselves. And even better giving us the ability to tackle those notions and prove them wrong. That kind of potential is very exciting. The other thing exciting I’ve learned is that there is a movement in the running world to practice running like we practice yoga…BAREFOOT!

house training

I just bought a house which is exhilarating, joyous and terrifying! Most amusingly the thing that terrifies me the most is not the home ownership stuff; the repairs, the up keep, the mortgage. Nope for me the hardest thing about owning a home is the cleaning. I’m a little bachelor-esque, a little messy, not dirty just…untidy. I’m so excited about my very first, very own home that I want to invite people over for dinner and coffee and deck time and dog dates but that means I have to keep my house presentable; tidy! Enter yoga.

I few months ago I was reading a brief article in Yoga Journal about respecting inanimate objects; I know it sounded a little kooky to me too. At first. The article brought up the question of why studio owners place emphasis on having students remove their shoes before entering the studio, stowing props just so and even folding blankets in a certain pattern. Which brought to my mind several studios I’ve worked for which had (to me at the time) ridiculously strict rules about the exact placement of blanket folds. But as the article went on it began to explain that learning to have respect for the little things brings awareness to our daily lives and thus that attitude of respect seeps into the larger things. Have you ever been rushed? So rushed that when you walk into your office, home or get into your car that you throw your bag into the seat or onto the desk or floor? Only to find later that your watch, earrings, fountain pen has broken. Because you didn’t have respect for your bag you now have blue ink all over its contents. So I decided to implement this concept of respecting all objects into my life in preparation for moving into my home. I would no longer disrespect the dishes by leaving them for days (yes days) dirty in the sink, I would no longer disrespect my coats by tossing them on the chair or floor when I walked in and I would place my bag in a designated spot with much less force (much the delight of my reading glasses). And all was well. Not! This stuff is hard, breaking habits is a struggle and no singular tactic works for everyone. But this is the tactic I utilized.

Smother it in love! This is a phrase I use when teaching. Because I don’t shy away from teaching difficult asanas to my students I try to make them feel completely supported by me but also by themselves. I tell them when they are practicing an asana they fear or just plain don’t like to take mental step back and smother that asana in love. Within that pose there is something to learn, something to be gained and maybe all you need it to try a different perspective. Instead of approaching it with fear or anger try to embrace it. Love it, love it so much that it submits to you and you find joy in your body while in that asana. And that is the tactic I have brought to my house keeping. I don’t like doing the dishes but I love having a clean sink in the morning. So I take that love of the final outcome and smother the process in it. And that helps me through the process. Even things I really dislike like laundry seem doable because I have so much love for my new house and I use that love to teach myself how to make it a home. I can even smile with my dish pan hands.