I think I coined my new favorite Bikramism last night:
"If you're laughing, you're breathing."
The 7:30 pm class had four new people, and they (mostly) did great. (And by that I mean three out of the four had great attitudes. The one who walked in with an "I can do everything" vibe left the room halfway through and left the studio altogether, against the teacher's directives. Frustrating.) The girl who ate pasta an hour before class didn't throw up; I'd consider that a victory these days.
One woman, this tiny, spunky smoker, had had a nervous laugh-snort out in the lobby as I was giving them the new-student rundown. She ended up behind me in the studio, so I felt like I had to be a good example.
She did great with all of the things newbies usually have trouble with—hands to feet, grip in standing bow, staying still... I fell out of a couple of postures and was sort of grumbling to myself when she caught my eye. A bit of a giggle-fest ensued. She did the snort-laugh thing again. How could I not crack up?
I don't want to be a class clown, but I also want new students to know that it's ok—hell, even encouraged—to have fun in there. We were "debriefing" after class, seeing how the new students felt, and talked about the frequency of fainting (I haven't seen it myself, but I have very nearly done it). All the time, we hear, "As long as you keep breathing, blah blah blah." Talking with the snorter, I said, "As long as you're laughing, you're breathing."
At least for me, this one's a keeper, and a reminder to not take
yay! fun is a must in the hot torture chamber. can u imagine if all tortured souls laughed at the same time? i think the world would...(too soon for that joke, please fill in the blanks).
ReplyDeleteone of these days, we shall practice together.
great pic of SHTK on zee mountains. *like*
Oh, tanks. It's hard to tell in BW, but there is actually snow in front of me. *dislike* (Of course I get all taking-myself-too-seriously and think "Oh goodness, my grip is not right!" But then sanity takes over and is all, "Hell-OOO, you're wearing big-ass hiking boots. Deal.")
ReplyDeleteI SO CANNOT WAIT for us to practice together. ! I just realized you wrote "practiCe," not "practiSe." I thought Canadians used that? Anyway... I may have to take a trip up to TO one of these days.
LOL i use it interchangeably, though practiSe is used more in the verbal sense, and practiCe as the noun. yeah, we're dorks.
ReplyDeletesoooooon, missy. soon! we can hang out at the spa together and detox :p
Love it! Laughing IS breathing. Sometimes it can get a little too serious in the hotbox, I love it after class when my fellow yogis and I can be silly. Loving your blog btw.
ReplyDelete