Something For Me - Something For You

I rented a beach house for my birthday.  To me, there isn't anything more relaxing than hanging by the beach listening to waves crash on the shore.  I stayed for several days and had different groups of friends and family visit. One day one girlfriend came to join me. Another day a whole group of girlfriends came to party all night.  Next - the family came to spend the weekend.  You could see the stress melt away as they climbed up the stairs to the beach house door.  The view from the deck and the sounds were amazing - the chatter of the seagulls, waves crashing, hot tub jets bubbling away, the blender in the background grinding up frozen margaritas, laughter and "ahs" as the atmosphere sinked in.  I rented the beach house for me as a getaway but realized it was ending up as the much needed break from reality for all of the visitors.  They seemed to need it more than I did and just watching them gave me a sense of peace and happiness that I was able to give them this gift.  


I used to do yoga in college.  I think then it was more of a personal challenge to try to get into some crazy positions as opposed to working through a series of poses for exercise.  After years of teaching fitness classes I took yoga training. I wanted to share this amazing form of exercise with others.  When we teach, especially when we teach an intense class like indoor cycling or a weight lifting class, we as instructors want to get our own workout too.  Though our focus remains on the members - encouraging, motivating, assisting with techniques and offering minor adjustments.  And it's not just the workout.  I always leave class feeling better, calmer, and happier than when I came - having shared my love of fitness and my love for them.


Like the beach house - we both benefit.  

Let It Come To You

As I stood at the top of the trapeze platform, the assistant reminded me to wait for her cue before I jumped. "Once you are out there - let the other person come to you. Reach out and let her grab you." she instructed me. I am not sure I heard much of it because the height of the platform was terrifying me. I held on for dear life and waited for the "hep" cue. And I was off - screaming with fear and delight at the same time all the way. I reached out, let her come to me - and felt her hands wrap around my wrists - contact - success - yes!!

In yoga, when we are doing a lunge pose called a triangle, I remind the students not to bend over to try and touch the floor. "Let the floor come to you", I instruct them. "The deeper you lunge, the closer the floor will get. Let it come to you." Some are patient and others can't wait - they bend over forward to touch the floor thinking that is the goal. I help them adjust their pose to remove the strain and allow them to move closer to the side bend benefits. In time, they will learn to let the pose flow instead of trying to make it happen. In yoga, as in life, our egos get in the way in so many unproductive ways.

Sometimes we need to stop trying so hard to get somewhere and allow things and people to come to us. All in good time.

Are You a Robot?

As I stood in line at the store check-out I could hear the cashier running through her spiel - "How are you today?", "Did you want to save 5% by opening a ---- account?", "Thank you for shopping with us", "Have a great day!". I flashed my charge card in front of her so that she could see that I already had a card. Surely I wouldn't hear the same "Did you want to save 5% by opening a --- account?". But the same words she had just delivered to the customer in front of me came out of her mouth without missing a beat. I said no thank you and mentioned I already had a card for her store, flashing my shiny red card again for her to see. She bagged up my items and I was on my way. I passed along the line of cash registers toward the exit and noticed my favorite cashier was working. He was ringing up customers with his usual "you are the most important person in the world - how can I make your life easier today? - I am SO glad you came to visit us today" attitude. It never fails. He is one thing you can always count on. I smiled as I left - making a mental note to look for him first before I check out next time.

Then I wondered. Am I a robot? When I teach my yoga classes do I run through the sun salutations with an "oh here we go again - sun salutation number 4,378". Or do I make each one a delightful new movement for myself and everyone. Either way - I am going to make sure I do going forward. No more robots.

Assessing the Stockpile

After Christmas I get in the mood to clean out closets and drawers. There is something about the new things I have received that gets me in the mood to clean clutter. I started going through clothes in my closet. Some of them have been there for so long without moving that the shoulders and the hanger were both collecting dust. I decided which ones I would actually wear again, had them cleaned and hung them back in the closet dust free. Other clothes ended up at the front door in bags waiting for the next donation center trip. I didn't stop with the closet. I moved on to drawers and shelves - amazed at some of the things I didn't even know I had. I've made it a goal this year to use up my lotions and potions and candles and incense that have been stockpiling unbeknownst to me. What was I waiting for? It takes a good clutter cleaning to realize what treasures we already have - even though it can be tough to get started.

Each year I attend a yoga conference in California. My yoga students look forward to the new poses (and the chocolate) I always bring back from the conference. This year I focused on taking workshops that helped me learn more advanced mechanics as opposed to just cool new poses (though I did get quite a few of those in the process). There are many adjustments we can make to the simple poses we have been doing for years that will help our progress and our enjoyment immensely. I encourage the students to perfect their simple poses as the base for the advanced poses.

We need to enjoy what we have and find pleasure in some of the old things from our closet or old poses from our practice instead of continually adding new ones to our stockpile. Here's to dusting something off today!

Don't Be Afraid of the Train

Last year I attended the Yoga Journal Conference in San Francisco. Wanting to try something new, I selected an instructor I had never heard of for one of my sessions. The workshop description sounded intriguing and the title -Urban Flow - resonated with my Detroit roots. It turned out to be one of the best, most fun and challenging of all the sessions I participated in. I was hooked and wanted more. I was hoping the instructor would be at the conference again this year since he owned a studio in the Bay Area. I searched the list and checked it twice but was disappointed to find he wasn't going to be presenting. So - I looked up the location of their studio in San Francisco and signed up on-line for a class during my stay.

The evening I was scheduled for my class I "Googled" the studio and found it was within a reasonable walking distance (note - reasonable can be five miles for me). I headed out the door of the hotel and then did a sudden unexplained about-face to the concierge desk to check on my walking estimate - just to be sure. Maybe God stopped me - I think so. When I told the concierge where I was going he said I could get there easily in 30 minutes but he didn't recommend it. I would be walking through the "tenderloin" area of town and it wasn't safe. He recommended the underground train. Coming from a small town and not really being a frequent train and bus rider, I hesitated at first. He assured me it was easy and gave me simple and complete directions. "You can't miss it" he said. "Haven't we all heard that before?", I thought. He recommended I take a taxi cab home unless I met someone in the class to walk back to the train station with. I found everything to be exactly as he described and ended up in the right place - though I did have a bit of a walk after I exited the train - and some of it was in the "wrong" direction in more ways than one (oops - wrong way on the street - oops - I think I hit the edge of the tenderloin area!). The energy in the yoga studio and the class was incredible and uplifting. I did meet someone to walk back to the train station with. We are still communicating and I know I will connect with her next year when I return to San Francisco.

Don't be afraid of the train - i.e. something new or unfamiliar. You might just find an incredible yoga class and make a new friend.

Don't Mess with My World

I was running a few errands the other day and was leaving a parking lot. As I turned onto the main street, I saw a drink cup fly out of the window of the car in front of me. Being the "save the world and recycle" kind of girl that I am, I was appalled and considered getting out of my car to pick up the cup and give it back to the driver. I figured I would just be left standing in the road with a paper cup as the offending driver drove off ahead of me. So, I gave up on that thought.

It turned out that we were both stopped at the next light side by side, with her to my right. My convertible top and windows were down and her window was open. So tempting, so so tempting. I just had to say something (being the "say what's on your mind" kind of girl that I am!) and so I did. "Please don't throw trash out your window" I said in a polite tone. She yelled back "Did you see me throw trash out my window?". "Yes, I did.", I replied. And she continued yelling all sorts of things back at me - including "mind your own business!". "It is my business. You are messing up my world", I replied. I felt sorry for the three kids in the car and only hoped they would see that throwing the trash out the window was wrong, not that their mom going ballistic was right. Maybe the driver would stop and think next time before she threw something out her window. I can only hope. It ended peacefully and I am still alive. She rolled her window up and I considered making a u-turn and going back to pick up the cup.

I think it is important to speak up when things are not right. It is not always the easy thing to do but sometimes it is the only way to get things to change for the better. Let people know things are not ok.

I occasionally give out cards to my yoga students. There are three questions on the card -

1. What am I doing that you like and want me to keep doing?
2. What am I doing that you don't like and want me to stop doing?
3. What am I not doing that you would like me to start doing?

They said there wasn't anything they wanted me to stop doing. I guess things are all right - at least in my yoga world.

Confirm Receipt

I noticed on my phone that I missed a call from one of my personal training clients but there wasn't a "message waiting" symbol so I let it go. Sometimes people accidentally dial your number and hang up quickly before you answer. The next morning I went to pick him up for our workout session and he wasn't ready. "Didn't you get my voice message?", he asked. "No, I didn't", I replied. I checked my phone and there were no messages. I didn't doubt he called and left a message. Cell phone technology leaves much to be desired. I told him it wasn't a big deal but to think about the implications in other business situations. He is a young man, new to the business world. I suggested that he confirm receipt of messages when dealing with business associates. As he could see, you can't rely on voice messages and text messages to always go through or be read by the other person. Their time table for checking messages may be very different than yours. He agreed to the importance of confirmation.

A few years back I was carpooling to a yoga event with a girlfriend. We were going to ride together in my convertible. The weather was perfect for a "hair blowing in the breeze, sun on your face" kind of day. A friend of hers decided to join us for the class. My car only has room for two ("Useless" - is how one friend's husband has always described it. I say - room enough for my friend and our two beach chairs. Who needs anything else!). I needed a top down day and left her a voice mail message on her work phone that I would ride on my own and meet them there. After a while I didn't hear back so I called again but couldn't leave a message because her voice mail box was full. I called and left a message on her cell phone and her house phone and e-mailed her, but never got a confirmation that my message was received. I went to the rendezvous spot to wait, thinking she hadn't received my message. She happened to drive by on her way to the class and see me in the parking lot waiting. She pulled in and asked why I was there. "I thought you were going on your own!". "I never got a confirmation that you received my message!", I replied. A simple e-mail, text or quick call back would have avoided a lot of confusion.

In yoga, I ask permission to adjust a student's pose. And they give an indication it is ok or let me know of an injury or issue to watch out for as I help them get deeper in the pose. I always encourage them to listen to their body as they move into poses and pull back if it doesn't feel right. Your body is trying to return your call and let you know the message was received. Watch for those cues.