Yoga Is Like This

Ever hear the story of the guy who cursed the pile of sh*t?

So there’s a guy walking down the street…

He’s headed for work and in his rush, he steps in a big pile of sh*t. He begins to curse at it in anger in frustration, yelling “you dirty pile of sh*t”.

It is then that the sh*t begins to speak. “Who’s dirty? I’m dirty? Do you know what I was yesterday?”

And the man stands confused.

The sh*t continues, “Yesterday I was cupcakes and cookies and pancakes and hot chocolate. I only became this way after I passed through you. So, now, you tell me, who is the dirty one?”

While I do have a pretty raunchy foot fungus going on due to my soggy sneakers after my jungle trek, the point of the story is not that we are dirty human beings.

The point is that we forget.

We rush to work and we forget to see where we are going. We care so much about our own daily tasks, that we forget about the greater importance of things going on in the world. We forget that everything came from somewhere, and everything will go somewhere or become something else.

We think garbage is gross. But that very garbage was yesterday’s fresh orange juice.

Similarly, we think flowers are so beautiful…and are those flowers not composed of the remains of our compost and insect feces?

Next week I have examinations to become a Certified Yoga Educator. Never has that title held such value, meaning and understanding in my heart.

May 31 will be the culmination of a very special month for me.

It has been not just a sattvic month, but also a vegan month. It has been not just a fruit, vege, grain month, but a home-made soy milk, not 1 processed food month. It has been not just a no-coffee month, but a home-made daily tea month.

It has been a month surrounded by conscious individuals, loving souls, and visionaries. It has been a month interacting with activists, responsible citizens and passionate hearts. People who made compassion, friendliness, trust and forgiveness come easily. People who made me think “I can” and who made me believe the earth can once again be a balanced place, as it was when it was first created.

Before I came here, I feared the 5am wake-up…and now I couldn’t imagine missing the sunrise hour.

The morning meditations, then asana practice, then fresh oats with ripe berries… every morning, truly blessed, in every sense of the word.

I thought I would learn new yoga poses, the history of yoga and yoga principles. What I really learned, was to say grace.

I thought I would learn deep principles that I would write in calligraphy and post on my bedroom wall. What I learned was to be friendly, to have compassion for those who may cause hurt, and to feel joy in the success of others.

The yoga principles are basic. As are the physical postures, diet, and lifestyle… Very basic. Yet, deeply delicious and rewarding if you have the patience to put them into practice…

Work happily.

Live in the present (not the past, nor the future).

Be really concentrated in all that you do.

And have faith in a higher reality…

The earth is our only home. It doesn’t matter who or what you believe in, if you are this religion or that, or all, or neither. It doesn’t matter if you believe in science or the church. We are all here because of the earth. There are things we may never be able to explain in this material world- one that we cannot explain is just how we got here. But we are here. Now. And the earth is our only home.

So, why not live like we know that?

Why not remove the blinders that have told us that “sh*t” is shit. Because, it is not and you don’t have to be a genius to realize that it wasn’t born that way.

Awareness is a powerful thing…and you don’t have to be a Buddha or Priest or Guru to practice it.

Just take a moment to recognize that the earth is our only home and the only thing that is guaranteed is this moment.

How do you value your days?

What do you want to put into your body- the only vehicle you have to carry you through this world?

How will you treat the guy who pumps your gas today? A guy who may have 4 children at home that he struggles to feed.

What will you do when the lady behind you speaks too loudly on her cell phone on the train? When did you become ruler of the world? And why do you need to let her control your state of happiness?

Life is tricky…and we all fall for the traps.  

Many times this month, I have had nightmares after days and days of self-reflecting on my actions. Many times I have asked for forgiveness. And more times, I have asked for guidance.

Because, I have felt what it feels like to avoid the trap. In the moment it is difficult, and a part of you just wants to be weak, to give in. But when you make it out alive, you feel more liberated, more confident, more fulfilled than ever.

Every trap is an opportunity. Every small problem is a chance to get creative, to find a new solution, to grow. And you will.

And you will keep on walking and say to yourself “how lucky I am that I stepped in shit today, because I had almost forgotten how fortunate I am to be able to eat sweet foods on a daily basis, when most others do not.”

And, you will laugh to yourself, at how silly it is to curse the world for our own creations.