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| Bird of Paradise |
This is the line I've chosen to say when bringing the yoga classes I teach to an end. The post-savasana, pre-namaste wisdom that I'm happy to share.
I'm sticking with this line right now, though I'm not sure it's entirely accurate. How do I know if everyone in that yoga room is grateful that their body allows them to move? I don't know. I'm okay with that. Even if they aren't grateful, I want everyone to think, at least for a moment, about these phenomenal machines we have working for us.
It doesn't matter if you can touch your toes, stand on your head, or balance on one foot. It doesn't matter if you spend 45 minutes in child's pose. You may have a day where you feel like you are floating on air, with a spring in your step. The next day may be clumsy and achy, sometimes even painful. But can you move? That. Is. Amazing.
My knees might be cranky, but they work and get me where I need to go. I will never take them for granted. Two knee surgeries, and subsequent days on the couch not moving, help me put that into perspective. So it's true that I am grateful. I am grateful that my body allows me to move in this way, is perhaps a more accurate rendering of the line, We are grateful that our bodies allow us to move in this way.
But I can't end a yoga class I just taught with a line about me. Well, I could, but that's not the kind of teacher I want to be. For now, my yoga students will continue to hear this line at the end of class. And maybe they'll start to hear it when they aren't in the yoga studio. When a long day on their feet, extra reps at the gym, old knees, or a cranky back catches up to them, I want it to be remembered that these amazing machines allow us to move and that's an action that should never be taken for granted.
Namaste!
But I can't end a yoga class I just taught with a line about me. Well, I could, but that's not the kind of teacher I want to be. For now, my yoga students will continue to hear this line at the end of class. And maybe they'll start to hear it when they aren't in the yoga studio. When a long day on their feet, extra reps at the gym, old knees, or a cranky back catches up to them, I want it to be remembered that these amazing machines allow us to move and that's an action that should never be taken for granted.
Namaste!
Casey,
ReplyDeleteLove the post. This echo's my post ankle surgeries philosophy. Spend any time on crutches, in a wheelchair, etc. and you don't take mobility for granted any more.
As for your concerns over your statement to end class... I find it somewhat refreshing. Over lunch today, I read that, "the mind can be powerfully retrained by the imagination as it is by reality." A nicer way of saying, "Fake it till you make it." but also a way to talk about positive reinforcement. Your statement seems to fall in line with these sentiments of being positive and training our minds / hearts to appreciating the gifts we have been given. I say, keep it in there, if it's true to you. Who knows, if your students aren't with you in the sentiment, they may be inspired to have a change of heart.
Thanks for sharing.
Namaste.
NTS
Thanks Nick. I'm confident no one is walking out of class thinking, "I'm not grateful..." How's the ankle today? While our lessons in missing mobility are concrete, I wouldn't wish the true life experience on anybody. Take our word for it: be grateful! :)
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