Joy Would Let Me In

Decisions, Decis

Barely made it to FriYay! yoga on time. Had a conversation with several coworkers about Lona's and left later than planned. The traffic seemed extra heavy and the lights extra long. All the time, though, I knew that Joy would let me in if I were late. Still, I don't like to be late...

My balance was off and I seemed to find many things funny. When Joy said that you could do uttanasana by the water cooler, I laughed and laughed because I imagined Rosie, who also struggled to get to FriYay! on time, and myself executing uttanasana and I also thought about the 'Fugee who put the kibosh on my stability ball at work. People already think you're interesting as it is, she said. Doing uttanasana in a common area would just seal the deal.

Joy also talked about how, in this frenetic world, being calm is like a superpower. I laughed at that too even though I know it's a superpower that I possess.

Rosie and I headed to Lona's after yoga. Only, Lona's is small and the joint was packed so we headed to Lulu's and had Buddha bowls. Rosie used her chopsticks and I did not even ask for any.

After Lulu's, Rosie said she felt like having tea. I felt like having coffee. We wandered into a gelato place where we got gelato. Rosie also got chai but I didn't have room for anything after my Mayan chocolate/tiramisu combo.

Looked at Rosie's pictures from a recent trip and when I got to pictures of the Great Wall of China couldn't help but think of Karl from "An Idiot Abroad" -- It's not a great wall. It's just an okay wall.

Wouldn't mind seeing the giant Buddha and doing Tai Chi in the park.

Putting Laughter in the Cocktail

Let's see. Slammed down my phone on Friday and, on Thursday, slammed my right fist onto my desk. Not a very smart move for a number of reasons including the fact that I am not ambidextrous.

Could have a used a cocktail of acupuncture, energy work, massage and yoga this weekend.

Thankfully, it was sunny and nice today and I went for a long walk which can hold its own as a cocktail ingredient. Listened to music and one of the funniest and most poignant episodes of The Moth, "Wrestlers, Exoneree, Nurses."

During one of the segments, Richard Price says:

My grandmother was 5-foot tall and weighed 300 pounds. Despite her size, she grew up feeling utterly invisible.

He goes on to say:

She was my most loving relative...Not to dis my nuclear family but when I went to visit her, it was like being on parole.

That totally got me to thinking about who makes me feel as if I'm on parole*...

I laughed and laughed while I walked. I should have put laughter in that cocktail too.

Went to my remedial yoga class and it was packed to the gills. I claimed my real estate then went to the bathroom only to discover that the paper towels were gone. Ah man, I moaned. This woman said something indecipherable and I asked her to repeat what she'd said. It turns out that I had an invitation (eventually several) to wipe my hands on her sweatshirt. I howled because she was so funny with her insistence that I do it. I followed the funny woman's lead and wiped my hands on my clothes. What was I moaning for in the first place -- a paper towel emergency?

Before yoga, watched an episode of Pit Boss. Shorty was having a really hard time and told his priest:

I have very limited family and very limited friends. I rescue all of these pit bulls but feel like I haven't done enough.

The priest tells Shorty There will never be a time when you've done all that you can do. In response to Shorty's comment about being a lost soul, he tells him You are not alone. You are absolutely never alone. You're only alone if you block out everything else. (Season 3, Epi 8)

*Actually, my grandmother made me feel like I was on parole a lot.

Don't Tell Marisa

Because of various conflicts, I hadn't been to yoga in a week and decided to try a new, to me, yoga teacher at my gym.

More than anything, I knew that my body needed yoga since I'm still sore from Monday's kettlebell encounter.

I really like Rhonna. She noticed that there were new people in class, asked if anyone was new to yoga, encouraged us to use blocks, straps, blankets and modifications, if needed.

I found myself laughing while in wide-legged forward fold when Rhonna said Say hello to your hamstrings; they thank you for coming.

When she told us to pay attention to our shoulders to make sure they weren't eating our ears, it was an image that I could hold onto.

I felt like I had the best of two worlds -- laughter and yoga.

In fact, Rhonna told us that she liked it when we laughed because she knew that we were breathing. And I liked it when Rhonna told us that yoga is about you and I ruminated on that concept: yoga is about you...yoga is about you...

As I think about how sore I am and how I need to immerse myself in a salt bath, I have a certain amount of gratitude for being pushed hard by Marisa. Having pushed my limits in kettlebell class, other tasks felt and feel much easier. And feeling like you can tackle just about anything? Priceless. But please don't tell Marisa about the gratitude thing or she might give me more opportunities to have that feeling.