Yesterday I attended a yoga class put on by Stil Studio and sponsored by vitacoco. It took place at the Langham Hotel in a ballroom! There was live music performed by The Grass Gypsys and DJ. F. Fotch was spinning. I had been looking forward to going for weeks. As a mother of four these kinds of things are few and far between for me. As I made my way into the city to attend I felt invigorated, excited, and alive! I love doing something for the first time. There’s nothing quite like doing something new to stoke your senses into awakening.
What I noticed as I parked my car was that people were arriving in pairs or groups of 3, others like myself were meeting someone there. I love this about yoga. Yes it’s excercise, but it’s so much more than that. There is such a bigger piece happening. Yoga brings us together.
The class itself was unique in structure, because it was co-taught by 4 different teachers, two of which I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting before (Amy Leydon & Todd Skoglund). Kevan Gale said something at the beginning of class that went like this. “I simply cannot understand why we as people are not more compassionate with each other”. That thought really resonated with me. He then went on to say that the class itself was not free (although in fact, it thankfully was). He asked us all to think of someone we know that is suffering. He also asked us to think of some way we might help that person. I reached into my own head and was surprised to find that two names came quickly to mind. I kept these people in my thoughts throughout the rest of practice. I had known these two people in my life were in need of something extra, but if I hadn’t come to class, I’m not sure I would have created space for them in my heart. O.K. wait, that sounds awful, they already exist in my heart and I was concerned about them, but I wasn’t making space to try and help them. I didn’t know where to begin. This class turned that all around for me.
Later in class, Betty Riaz asked us each to “pick one thing that you like about yourself”… tension began to build as I waited for the critic in my head to respond. I waited some more and then I knew. My smile, I like my smile. I like to smile. She asked us to think about that quality and then to meditate on sharing that quality with those around us. But I never thought about this smile as a gift I’m sharing with the world. It never occurred to me that it could turn someone’s day around or actually make a difference. When I left class I made sure to hug my friend Ali goodbye. Why are we so stingy about giving our hugs away anyway? I left to return to my family and hockey practice and dunkin’ runs and homework, and I noticed the moments that I exchanged with others and thought about the smile I shared with them as I thanked them or helped them and it felt powerful.
In preparing to write this article I read some very moving pieces on the responsibility project blog check it out if you have time. I recommend reading resolution road, and 26 acts of kindness. One article explains how Ann Curry, following the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT asked people to imagine what it would be like if we could all commit to doing one act of kindness for every life lost that day. 1.3 million followers committed. After taking the yoga class at Langham this weekend and upon finishing the article i read on 26 acts of kindness i was inspired…
So today my 2 sons and I fed the meter of a car parked next to us, both before and after a dr.’s visit we had in the city. The car had 0 minutes left on the meter when we found it and it had a handicapped tag hanging from the rearview mirror. We all had big smiles on our faces as we fed the meter with quarters. The boys felt confused as we pulled away and said, “wait! How will they know it was us?” I told them “they won’t guys, they won’t know it was us, but maybe, just maybe we turned someone’s day around”.
Think about it…and pay it forward.
Thank you Kevan, Betty and stil studio for putting on such a supercool event!
-J
what yoga gave to me... 