So, as I mentioned, I’m just about ready to attempt to walk 1000 km on a spiritual pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago. Yay! (<–That links to stories from 2009, when I walked a part of that route. Hopefully I’ll be able to update from the journey this year, as well)
Anyway, I’ve spent the last week with my family at a beach house, spending most of the time babysitting two toddlers, and blogging in the few spare minutes I could find. (And, uh, eating copious amounts of clam chowder, but that’s a different story.)
It was great fun, but, being with family is bound to cause stress, no matter what, and a 1-year-old with an ear infection meant that Auntie did not get much rest! Then, I discovered that there is drama with my apartment and landlord.
And so, yesterday, after a rough morning of packing up, no food, little sleep, and the bad news which had my adrenaline pumping and body shaking for almost 3 hours, plus the stress of being about to depart on a 4 month journey, I totally fell apart.
“I NEED A XANAX!!!!” I thought.
“So you can be a zombie and useless for the rest of the day?” asked Wise Mind.
“OK THEN HOWABOUT A BEEEEERRRR??????” I asked myself.
“Yeah, you want to deal with Mom after a few beers? Not the best choice.” replied Wise Mind.
“OMG I NEED A YOGA CLASSSSSSSS!!!! AURGGGHehealfhghhehea!!!!” said my internal voice.
“That’s better,” said Wise Mind. “Now you’re thinking. But you’re in suburban NJ. Good luck finding one at this hour. Call a friend, then look for yoga. OK?”
So I did. Luckily, my friend talked me off the ledge, and I calmed down somewhat. And, as it turned out, there’s a yoga studio in this town! I made plans to go the next morning, and, even though I still only had 5 hours of sleep, I dragged my butt to class on time.
It. Was. Awesome.
The teacher and owner, Betsey, started with what she called the “No Worries Mudra.” A “Mudra” is basically a hand position or gesture, supposedly to focus and direct energy. This one, with the pinky fingers aligned and touching from tip to wrist, the palms open, rest of the fingers splayed out except for the middle fingers, which touch at the tip, is supposed to help allay worries and stress.
Now, I’m not really a super-hippie-woo-woo kind of person, and have a heapful of doubt when it comes to this stuff (ie, placing your hands a certain way affecting your emotions, health, etc), but it was pretty unbelievable how quickly this mudra resonated with me.
Almost instantly I felt a wave of emotion, tears sprung to my eyes, and I felt a sort of release and openness. I couldn’t even choke out the opening “Om” sequence, the sound catching in my throat.
But, unlike when I first started yoga oh, six months ago, this did not scare me, I did not force it down. I welcomed the emotion. I recognized a sense of peace in the release. I made a point to etch this mudra in my normally inattentive mind, so I can call upon it again in the future: it was that powerful.
Allowing this emotion to flow unimpeded, I realized, “I’m not a beginner anymore!”
My body naturally went through the poses for the Sun Salutations, made more interesting with a few twists thrown in for good measure. Betsey started us slowly, building up speed almost imperceptibly until we were at a much faster pace, flowing through the vinyasas at a good clip.
It was just what I needed.
If you asked me 6 months ago that someday I’d be saying “Thank God for yoga,” I’d have cocked an eyebrow at you and said, “Riiiiight.” But I’m proud to say that it took a lot of work, but yoga is definitely now officially one of the best tools in my anti-stress arsenal.
ADHD Yogi 