World In Changes at PS 108: Bedminster, NJ: August 28, 2019
Part of embracing the power of yoga is learning how to embrace change. Summoning extra juju in Bedminster, NJ by practicing yoga at in a former school house, wearing a Ya)e shirt (my brother Walton teachers there) and bowing to the totem of an owl. ps-look at this beautiful garden that’s part of this studio!
PS 108 is one if my favorite studios in the country. A converted old schoolhouse, it oozes charm and I can’t help but enjoy just sitting there , marinating in the structure that has sweet vibes from decades of learning inside these painted walls.
It’s August but you can feel Fall just around the corner. If you look closely, some of the leaves are starting to turn. Our teacher made mention of this whisper of change in the air and asked us to consider how we deal with change.
”I’m aces at it,” I think to myself. “I’m practiced with all the touring I do” , feeling slightly ‘better than’ and smug until we actually started moving. I saw my body stiffer than the wooden floorboards upon which our mats lay. Our bodies don’t lie, even when we want them to .
When I was here two years ago my body wasn’t as cranky. The obvious conclusion is my body has changed. I chose to ignore this difficult truth for the better part of the class. I distracted myself in the fresh breezes, chirping cicadas, and smell of rosemary from the garden just outside the window.
Change, or more specifically, embracing change is a theme popping up all over this tour, which happens to be one of my all-time-favorite runs. It’s easy, it’s leisurely, it’s good weather. Audiences have been happy, merch is selling like hot cakes.
Our agent has peeled back the schedule to appropriately accommodate David who is now 73. We’re officially all grown up, and finally aligning with the truth of a slower pace. Though slowing down is not a deceleration, a braking, a downshift. In no way is it a less powerful play.
Yogis have suggested for a long time to slow down. Notice the magic that’s afoot. One of the ways to do that is in the asana practice. The mind moves so quickly and by drawing our attention to our bodies is gives our rapid fire mind a place to land. Maybe that’s one reason the asana felt so good this morning. And maybe a slower pace is why this tour feels so good . I’m sort of digging these changes.
And I suspect embracing my own personal change also helps. As I looked around the studio in class I see women around my same age which is to say a lot of grey hair, a lot of bodies who are moving gracefully, making our way to another season , patiently waiting for the turn of autumn leaves .