What's Your Story?

I took a walk along the beach in Grand Cayman - the water was turquoise, the sand a beautiful barely beige, bright blue sky as far as I could see and a cruise ship docked at the end of the island unloading tourists. They dropped them off so they could join the party at one part of the beach called the Reef. Hundreds of college students focused on drinking, tanning and making connections. I passed through the short stretch of chaotic beach and soon was walking in the calm again. When I returned to my beach chair, I found a couple with vividly colored matching towels had planted themselves in the sand a few feet from my beach spot. I offered them a beach chair that my brother had recently vacated, as he was a snorkeler and not a sun bather, and the conversation began.

They were originally from England, but were now living in Spain. They owned a restaurant/bar that I hoped to visit before they moved back to England in the fall after their daughter's wedding. The gentleman worked in the film industry building sets for movies. Their future son-in-law was a professional bicycle rider, soon to be riding the Tour De France. I wrote down his name so that I could look him up on the Internet when I returned to techno reality. They only had a few short hours before they had to return to the cruise ship, and this part of the beach had been recommended to them. I'm glad they found it and me and I found them and their story.

In yoga class I like to find out my students' stories - why they were there?, what did they want or need from yoga?, what did they do for work and for fun?, what made them come back?, did they want to go on a field trip to Austin to fly on the trapeze?... (thought I would slip that one in there!). There is always a story and it is always interesting to me.

People are so different - it is what makes life interesting. When we do the tree pose (i.e. standing balance) in class I always say - "All the trees in the forest are different and that is what makes the forest so interesting, all of your tree poses are different and that is what makes you so interesting".

Share your story.