Peace and Plenty: Yoga at Karma Tribe in Kansas City, MO: February 29, 2020
Merch goddess back in action. Fans loved our new t shirts.
The first yoga of touring, the first tour after four months of being off the road. Since yoga is always happening the question isn’t what the road brings, but rather, what yoga am I bringing to the tour.
Among other things I’m bringing a husband with a sore throat. Not just from a cold or flu but it seems a condition that flares up as a result of who knows what, the doctor’s best guess is allergies. He got tested for the coronavirus. Not that they thought he had it, but it’s such a scare out here, they are testing everybody who comes in with a sniffle. And because David and I are yoga-ed and are in contact with thousands in a week, I have to admit non of this has been soothing as we jump in with both feet and a bus full of hand sanitizer on our tour.
Most our shows are sold out. We have a line of cool new merch. I have plenty of cute boots to wear. This is the Peace and Plenty tour, I”m sure.
And then his throat thing starts. And just like that I dive bomb into fear.
I’ve been in many a tight spot before. The medicine, always, is turning in, tuning in, diving in to find my own center instead of blaming or reacting or freaking out. By the time I hit a yoga mat after two whole days of travel and doctors, I was ready to remember. Peace. Plenty. My body felt anything but.
I was able to practice on a mat every day of our four months off. I only had two days between all that practice and today. I was amazed at the level of stress within. I told myself I wouldn’t push myself today. I’d just sit there the whole class if I had to, but luckily I didn’t have to because within the first few breaths I remembered. Peace. Plenty.
In yoga class in Maui this winter, in Reno this week , and now here today in Kansas City, there’s a pattern of walking hands to feet, backwards-style to tadasana from downward facing dog. In the sixteen years I’ve been practicing I’ve only seen it a handful of other times, but it’s showing up now, right here in KC, like those whale songs that change and suddenly all the whales are singing the new song.
It might be a coincidence, but maybe new patterns are starting to show up, not just in yoga class but all over the world. It certainly seems like it. Look what’s happening in politics, in healthcare, at the merch table, and even in my relationship with David where I can see, for the first time, real partnership. He’s actually been listening to me lately. We made it through an entire shopping trip at Whole Foods without one argument.
The yogis say we dwell in the four aims of life. Artha, Kama, Dharma, and Moksha, or wealth , pleasure, duty, and freedom. All of that is in full roar on tour, but it seems the main practice is moksha. Freedom from it all. The stress of trying to figure it all out is worse that any airplane ride or doctor’s office.
I don’t know what this tour will bring. I’m not sure who will win these primary elections, if a vaccination against this virus will appear, or if I will continue to have David’s ear for a while. But as sure as I can reverse my pattern and walk backwards to tadasana, I can reverse my pattern to worry that things will fall apart. Today’s Peace and Plenty have been built on a lifetime of things falling apart. So best I quit trying to hold it all together with my worry.
What I can do is keep speaking my truth, washing my hands, casting my vote, and enjoying the show. Because, really, last nights concert completely blew my mind, in spite of a little rough start.
Health, Love and Rock N Roll