Lonely Toys

(Photo credit - Nathan Legakis)

Every time I teach yoga I drag a cart full of yoga mats, a bag of straps and two bags of yoga blocks into the studio. The gym where I teach does not have yoga supplies, so I bring my stash to every class for those that might not have a collection of the toys they might need. As we were moving into a pose that would be aided with straps and blocks, I encouraged the class to take some of the props I brought into class and use them for the pose. No one responded. I asked them if they knew the movie Toy Story. Many of them nodded their heads. "The toys were so lonely", I said. "No one was playing with them! My yoga props are so lonely. Won't you play with them - make them happy?" I teased the group and a few of them did finally grab some of the blocks and straps. I'm not sure why people won't use them. Maybe they think it is a sign of weakness to use a prop. They actually enhance the pose and assit you in enjoying the depth a bit more.

During this pandemic - the Corona virus - and the resulting wide open schedule - I had plenty of time to declutter my office and garage. It was amazing what I found. In my office I organized my books and discovered that because I couldn't find a book before, I had actually ordered a second copy of it not realizing I had it on the shelf buried in two layers of rows. I also found some art supplies - pencils and sketch pads - that I'd forgotten I owned. In the garage I discovered my old tennis rackets that were still in perfect shape except for the grips on the handles. An Amazon order later of grip tape and a few minutes of wrapping and I was ready to go again. All of these marvelous things just sitting there unused.

It's time to bring out the toys that were hiding and use them. What has been hidden away that you need to bring back in your life?