(In January, I had the priviledge of being present at my friends engagement party. Her family is from Bombay, India and this was a religious Puja ceremony. This tradition involved blessing the couple, prayer, and offering food to the Gods. I ate, I drank, I wore a Sari. This picture was taken during preperation for the "arshibad" ceremony). It’s a really great feeling to wake up on the weekend (on a day I do not have to work), have some breakfast, and walk out the door in comfortable clothing with no make up on. This is my routine when I go to yoga class on Saturday or Sunday mornings. I love waking up feeling refreshed, and not tired or stressed (You see, I never go out the night before taking class, because I know if I do I will not make it to class at all). So sometimes I watch Saturday Night Live and hit the pillow for 9 hours on Saturday night instead; and then I begin my Sunday morning on the mat with deep breaths, wrist curls, and shaking my head “yes” and “no”. As the instructor says, “wake up your body”. With my yoga pants, flip flops, white tank top, and my hair a wild mess, I headed down to St Marks place yesterday morning around 9am. My breakfast was Kashi cereal “autumn wheat” with skim milk and a banana. I hold on all coffee until after class since I don’t think it is wise to increase your heart rate with caffeine right before working out (where your heart rate will increase on its own). Also, it is an artificial way of waking up & yoga feels better in the end. I say that with all the love in the world for my coffee, but it’s the truth.
Class was tough this morning. It was a different instructor who I had never taken class with, and my body for some reason felt extra tight. I was surprised when I went into downward dog and my heels couldn’t touch the mat. I thought to myself “give yourself ten minutes and your body will warm up” but I was struggling for some reason. 20 minutes later I thought “maybe it was the 3 mile run last night, you didn’t really stretch well after and you may have tightened up during sleep”. 5 minutes later, as my hips screamed at me for making them go into warrior 2, I finally said, “this class is only an hour, so stop thinking, shut up, and do what you can,…. just don’t quit Jessica Marie”. (I use the "marie" here for that middle name extra "oomph". Remember when you were young and you knew you were really in trouble because your mom or dad called you by your first AND middle name? When I heard "Jessica Marie!" I knew to hide).
Then, just in the peak of class where your heart rate is really up, and sweat is starting to get into your eyes, the instructor tuned on Coldplays “Lovers in Japan/Reign of love”. A huge smile spread across my face, & I thought “amazing! I Love this song!” By the time I processed that thought, I realized I had made it into the bind position, which everyone else had already been holding for 3 minutes while I had been shaking with effort. Good lord! If any of you do not know what this is, google it. It’s not exactly…comfortable. That position makes me dizzy usually but I must have been feeling unstoppable because I just looked at the girl in front of me (who by the way, looked like she could do the dishes in that position with no problem) and copied her. Boom. Done. Jessica is in the bind. I credit the coldplay. After this mini miracle, I finally felt like I had accomplished something. Interestingly enough, the teacher starts going into a little lecture at this point. He starts saying (in his slow, calming yogi voice): “Just breathe. Dedicate this class to yourself, this is your time. We live in New York City, and living here means everything in your life probably revolves around competition. It is all ambition here. But this lifestyle….I am going to ask you to throw it out right now.” Huh…funny. He is so smart. If I hadn’t made it into the bind position at that point of class, and I finished the hour still struggling through everything (aka “if he hadn’t played the coldplay”), would I have felt like I failed in yoga this morning? Am I that New Yorker who competes with my own life? Now I understand though, that no matter how much I sweat or how many yoga positions I can or cannot do, the fact that I absorbed what this man said in that moment, about doing it for yourself… now I had truly reaped the benefits of class. That’s my hour. It doesn’t matter for 60 minutes what my sales are like at my job, if I am going to do well in my clinical nutrition class this fall, or if my electricity bill is due this week. I am going to for just an hour, stop competing with others and myself. I am going to try my best, breathe, and be grateful for the New York moment in which I actually slowed down. It doesn’t matter if the chick in front of me can stand on her head and write a check to time warner cable at the same time. My time was spent working on my flexibility, enjoying coldplay, & accomplishing the bind (yea!)
When class was over, as always, I walked out looking like I just fell in love. I stop at Think Coffee on 13th street on the way home and buy my well deserved cup of joe, hop on the subway and say “now….. what else will I do with this day?”
Peace. Love. Namaste.
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