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.

The Road to Hana

As I basked in the beauty of my tropical surroundings absorbing my daily requirement of vitamin D from the sun, I was reminded of a trip I took to Hana a few years back on the island of Maui. The road to Hana is an incredible day trip full of waterfalls, underwater caves, trails, and black sand beaches - definitely not to be missed for those visiting the island. It is recommended that you start your trip with a visit to a little convenience store on the corner to purchase a self-guided tour on CD, load up on snacks and drinks, and jump in your car. If you miss that step you might miss the whole point of the Road to Hana.

It is a delightful day of frequent stops to enjoy scenic event after event - some involve climbing, traipsing along a trail, jumping in an underwater cave or just standing by a rushing waterfall enjoying the roar and the mist. Some adventures are not for the light of heart - many stand on the shore and watch the crazier ones dare the waves to crash over them. Once you reach Hana you are cautioned to turn around and head back in the opposite direction of how you arrived for the road ahead can be lonely and treacherous. The car rental companies warn you they will not rescue you if you decide to ignore the warnings and continue your way around the back side of the island.
"Ah - let's do it" - my husband smiled. And we did. Granted - some turns were a little "hairy" - with seemingly nothing between us and the ocean but the air. Once in a while we saw another car but they were very few and very far between. A few curves made me hold my breath but he was very careful and we were never in any real danger. My concern was reaching civilization again before the sun set so we could see where we were going as those mountain turns were no place to be in the dark. We did see a winery hidden in the hills and vowed to return the next day to check it out (from the opposite direction). We made it home to our hotel safe and sound.

"Hana?" a friend exclaimed as I detailed our trip on our return. "I drove to Hana and it wasn't all that spectacular - what is all the hoopla about?" he asked. "Did you stop at the little party store and pick up the CD", Did you stop along the way to see the waterfalls, the black sand beach, the underwater caves, the forest trails?" I asked. All his answers were "no". "Then you missed it all" I lamented. "It is not Hana itself, but the Road to Hana that is so heavenly".

In yoga, students are always asking "When willI be flexible", "How long will it take for me to be able to do that pose?", ... I would respond that "we have all the time in the world - our whole life. Enjoy the journey. It is all practice - yoga develops patience my dears - enjoy the road (to Hana)."

Disconnected at last...

I was sitting in the gate area at the airport awaiting boarding for my flight to a Caribbean paradise. I just finished a call to my husband telling him we needed to take more vacations as I could already feel the stress melt away just thinking about my destination. I turned off the data reception on my phone before powering it down. No e-mails, no texts, no calls for four whole days. I experienced no sign of panic as the cell phone icon faded out - just peace as I imagined myself on the beach in my lounge chair, cold beer in hand, with the crystal turquoise water crashing up on the shore.

I recalled a recent conversation in which a friend stated with great pride that he had only taken one short vacation in the three years he had been with his company. "Why?" - I asked. It was such a foreign crazy concept to me. "The work just builds up while I am away and they can't live without me", he replied. How sad - for one to believe it, for two not to train someone to cover your work so you can escape and for three for the company to encourage this behavior and somehow think it is a good thing or to allow it.

We need recovery time.

I am often surprised how people cannot seem to turn off their phones for a short hour - whether it is in church or in yoga class - to have a peaceful experience. The world will survive without them, their friends can wait an hour for a response. You have to let yourself escape for your health.

We always rest at the end of yoga class in silence, on the floor on our backs letting everything sink into the floor completely relaxed. For some people it may be the only two minutes all day they really relaxed. It is so good for you. Turn it off. See how long you can last. Don't take that phone with you for one short errand. It is freeing.

I'll Come to Class After I Get Flexible

We all have those lists. Those things we want to do once we get to a certain point in life. Once we weigh a certain amount we will buy those fancy jeans. When we get enough money we are going to take that trip. When the kids are grown up we will finally have some free time...

I hear people say it all the time - "I can't do yoga, I'm not flexible. I'll work on getting flexible and then I will come to your class." I have to tell them - that is why you need to come now - to get flexible. If you wait until you are - the day will never get here.

See you in class.

On My Honor I Will Try

I was presenting on Creativity to a group of over 200 people at a dinner meeting of quality professionals and project managers. I mentioned a psychological study that found the more creative people think they are - the more creative they actually are. I then said we were going to TRY to change their perception of their creative selves and unleash their creative spirit. Then I laughed as I realized my blunder. I explained that I teach a course on Presentation Skills and I encourage the presenters to avoid the use of tentative phrases (i.e. try, hope). They should be confident and say "we will" or "we are going to". I asked the audience if any of them were ever boy scouts and a scattering raised their hands. "Do you remember the boy scout motto?" I asked, and a few of those hands dropped. "It starts off with - on my honor I will" I exclaimed. "How about girl scouts? any former girl scouts in the audience?" and several hands went up. "How does the girl scout motto begin?" I queried. "On my honor I will try... boy scouts will do it and girl scouts will try" I exclaimed. But tonight we WILL - change your perception of your creative self." And they were on board - and we did!

In yoga class I always tell them it is a practice not a performance. That we are going to try to do the poses and do the best we can, while always backing off if it doesn't feel right. And they TRY - and eventually they DO the pose.

Are you "trying" or are you "doing"? Even if you are only "trying" you will find that one day you end up "doing" too.

What's Going On in the Closet?

I am an avid recycler. I will even bring plastic bottles and cans home from an event to recycle them if the party doesn't have a recycle bin. I keep a large plastic tub in the closet under the stairs just for plastic. I returned home early one evening from running errands and had the dry cleaning in my right hand. I opened the closet door to lean in and throw my plastic water bottle from my left hand into the bin, with my back to the door and the door started closing on me, leaving me in the closet in the dark. I knew my husband was home and thought he was trying to be funny and close me in the closet. I started laughing and called out to him. Then I turned and saw that a strap from one of the just cleaned tops had wrapped around the door handle pulling the door closed as I leaned forward toward the recycle bin. I started laughing and came out of the closet. He was across the room smiling but a bit confused - wondering why I was shutting myself in the closet. When we both realized what had really happened, we had a good laugh.

Every event has two sides to it. We need to be open to the possibility that our view is not the only possible interpretation.

In yoga class I try not to assume what people are thinking. Though sometimes I will talk out loud expressing thoughts I imagine they are thinking. From their reactions I find that I am frequently dead on.

Sometimes the stories we are imagining are a lot more fun than the reality. Come out of the closet and be open to the possibility that your view is not the only view.

Smells So Good

I worked in downtown Detroit one summer during college as an engineering intern and remember the morning drive very well. My least favorite part was getting up before the crack of dawn to meet my car pool. It was the getting up part, not the car pool members, that was difficult. They were a fun bunch of older gentlemen. A few of us were always packed into the back seat and the back seat guys would tease, offering the driver money if he would take the next turn sharply so I would fall over. I would grab the handle hanging from the ceiling and laugh that I wasn't going to "fall" for that trick. My most favorite part of the drive was smelling the freshly baking bread as we neared downtown and the Wonderbread plant. The Stroh's brewery smelled pretty good too! Now, I occasionally work in downtown Houston and it has its own unique smells. My favorite here is the smell of coffee wafting from the Maxwell House plant. I've never been able to figure out why something that smells so good tastes so bad to me. I have to resort to Diet Cokes to wake me up in the morning.

Yoga can smell pretty good too. As I walked about the yoga room among my students this morning, I noticed how great everyone smelled, fresh from the shower. I commented how great my yoga students always smell and they laughed. ("Wait 'til the end of class" - one character whispered to me as I passed by).

I was reading an article in the paper today that detailed the royal wedding, including the flowers that were in Kate's bouquet. It included lilies of the valley. My mother always had a patch of lilies of the valley on one side of the house. They were my favorite (second only to the tulips she had growing on the other side of the house). Just reading about the bouquet brought back memories of the scent of those flowers and my mother. Later this evening we were returning to our car after a great baseball win by the Astros. My son and his friend were walking with us. My arm brushed a cascade of flowers growing on a fence and the floral scent filled the air. I turned back to look at the boys and teased - don't forget to stop and smell the flowers!

Don't miss out on the whole experience around you - make sure you take in the scents as well as the sights.