$%&# Happens! Namaste

I went to Las Vegas to celebrate my sister’s 40th b-day.  We had great food, nice drinks, a lovely hotel room, and most importantly quality time together.  With my family living all over the globe, spending time with them is a rare treat.  My last day in Vegas, I had some “me” time.  I even found an awesome yoga class on the strip at the gorgeous Bellagio Hotel.  The yoga class was $40, yup you heard me, $40!  I said to myself, what the hay, I am in Vegas.  When I arrived at the class I learned that the yoga students get access to the Bellagio spa all day.  In my book, absolutely worth the $40 admission fee.  After my Zen “me” day of yoga and spa I headed to the Las Vegas airport to catch my 45 minute flight back to LA.  My flight was on time and I arrived in LA that evening ready to relax and soak in the trip.  I thought to myself, I’ll go to bed early and be well rested to teach my 7:00a yoga class.

When I arrived at the parking lot where I parked my car the previous day, it was cold and windy.  Still giddy from my trip I enjoyed the change in temperature.  Plus, I had stopped at Starbucks and purchased a chai tea latte before I left the airport.  My latte was helping keep me warm.  As I approached the isle where I parked my car, strangely I didn’t see my car.  Oh $%#&, I thought to myself.  I wrote down exactly the location where I parked so I was a bit perplexed.  Then I decided to walk around the lot looking for my car just in case I happened to be wrong.  A security guard finally came up to me and offered assistance.  He mentioned my car may have been towed.  My heart sank!  After the police were called, it was confirmed, my car had been towed 3 hours ago.

Let me admit, my car getting towed was completely my fault.  As much as I wanted to curse out the LAX Police Department for towing my car, it was my oversight.  Unbeknownst to me, I let the renewal of my car registration slip.  How did I let this happen?  How frustrating, how embarrassing!  How completely inconvenient.  I realized I had been on such a roll teaching, building my classes, planning workshops, getting things together for upcoming retreats, and working on expanding my business.  I had dropped the ball on other important aspects of my life.  Man, was I grateful I partook in yoga class and the spa earlier the same day.

LA can feel like a city where independence rules.  Taking care of yourself financially, mentally, and spiritually feels like an amazing accomplishment.  Most of us are hustling and bustling doing what we love.  We pursue our desires with vigor.  It can be a huge wake up call to remember that human beings ultimately need other human beings to survive, it is natural.  While my car was in-pounded, I had to rely on my community to help me get through the day.  When you don’t have your own transportation in LA, you are quickly reminded of how dependent you have to be on others to get things done.  Of course these life challenges have the trickle down effect so everything seemed to be falling apart around me.  I felt like such a burden to others, I had to ask for this, I had to ask for that.  Of course my support system, aka my LA family, was more than helpful.  My clients, my yoga studio managers, my friends, and even people at the DMV reminded me that universe was still on my side, it always is.  It made me take an internal Child’s Pose.

In spite of the fact that there are millions of people in this amazingly complex city, one can feel quite lonely, including me.  Community is one of the many aspects of yoga I love. Yes, yoga is an individual act of healing oneself from the inside out.  However, when you are in class with other students your internal and external energies are mixing together like an exotic elixir.  There is a special feeling of togetherness, a deep soulfulness that transpires while sharing your breath and movement with others.  As one we are letting go, shedding, and opening up to receive.

When life gets challenging, I tend to turn into a hermit.  This go around I encouraged myself to be free of blame, guilt, shame, and other self sabotaging feelings (for no longer than 5 minutes).  I made myself continue to do what I love instead of punishing myself for weeks.  Life is full of learning lessons, yes, expensive ones sting!  It is in these tough moments where doing what I desire is crucial to living in the moment, not the past, and not the future.  Getting my car released from the impound was expensive.  Updating everything at the DMV took days.  Lots of time and money.

I thought to myself, how many yoga privates does that add up to?  It was of great solace to know on a deep level I am a part of wonderful communities in LA, I am not alone.  It was a relief to take a yoga class and let the instructor assist me so I could let go physically and mentally, ahhhhh.  I do practice throughout the week on my own but I knew I wanted the energy you can only get from a group class.  I am honored that everywhere I teach and everywhere I practice yoga in Los Angeles, I have people I can count on.  This support system is an essential part of life to foster growth, to share, to be held accountable, to have reality checks, to learn, to give of yourself, and to receive gifts from others.

People find a sense of community in many different places in this city, from theater groups, to churches, to sports activities, to yoga classes.  I ask you, who and what are your LA communities?  Who consists of your support group?

Don’t slip through the cracks or shall I say the potholes!  They don’t call this city Lost Angels for nothin’.  Do you have a yoga community?  This is a diverse city and I encourage you to stay connected to people you are genuinely interested in.  My various yoga communities are precious to me.  I’d love for you to join my yoga communities, please visit my website to see where we can connect online or in class.

I had the pleasure of overhearing two practicing doctors of medicine talking in the sauna at the Bellagio spa.  At first I wanted them to be quiet so I could be in my quiet space.  However, their conversation about health care in this country peaked my interest.  One doctor said she wants to move to another country because practicing medicine in the USA was just going to get worse and worse.  I asked her what she meant.  We’ve all heard it, the politics in medicine can be daunting.  The doctors and I concluded, the best way to stay healthy is to practice preventative medicine.  For me first and foremost, that is a consistent and mindful yoga practice.