A Feeling (and a Shape)

I used to have a recurring dream that I could do a split. I had that dream literally hundreds of times from middle school to my early 50’s. It was an exhilarating dream. I’d wake up the next morning grinning ear to ear with the lingering thrill of having of my pelvis on the floor, my arms in the air, one leg forward and one leg back. I don’t know if it was because I was a wannabe cheerleader or what, but at age 39, I decided to set a goal to do a split by my 40th birthday. 

I was an avid home exerciser at the time and had heard that yoga increased flexibility, so I added some yoga DVD’s to my strength and cardio collection. A practice I particularly loved was Power Yoga for Happiness by Eoin Finn. Eoin is a Vancouver native whose classes are both challenging and uplifting. An environmentalist and Joseph Campbell devotee, Eoin’s brand, Blissology, is all about creating joy and connection through yoga and nature. The feeling I got from Eoin’s practices all those years ago was something I’d never experienced, and I credit him with getting me hooked on yoga. I still do his classes today. 

His practices are loaded with what my friends and I call Eoin-isms; for example: 

Love is the ultimate renewable resource.

Nothing to prove, everything to share.

Most things that don’t go right, go wrong for all the right reasons.

Yogis go both ways (i.e., yogis do poses on both sides).

The grin on your chin is more important than your chin on your shin.

Yoga is a feeling, not a shape. 

I’ve only recently heard the last one, and at first, I agreed 100%. How many of us seek shapes rather than feelings in our lives? I thought. How many times have I turned up my nose when someone I knew sought superficial friendships or sacrificed deeper relationships in order to get ahead in business or climb socially? How often do I instruct my students (and myself) not to go deeper or do something stronger than feels good in our bodies?

And yet, isn’t there something exhilarating about feeling strong in an uncomfortable pose like Chaturanga or nailing an arm balance or inversion, if imperfectly? Doesn’t it feel amazing when you hang with a little discomfort in a yin pose and the pose all of a sudden opens up? And isn’t there beauty in the superficial shape itself? How about off the mat? What does it feel like to increase sales, spruce up your house, or get a new client? How do you feel when someone tells you how awesome you look? Are those feelings, shapes, or maybe both? 

It seems as if every post I write comes down to balance (which is what yoga’s all about). But balance doesn’t always mean 50:50. In the case of feeling vs shape, shape plays a role in increasing happiness, but I’d give feeling (substance) a priority over shape any day: 

THE MAN (and the suit)

THE WOMAN (and the dress)

THE RELATIONSHIP (and the ring)

THE TIME (and the watch)

THE LIGHT (and the lamp)

THE PEOPLE (and the place)

THE MIND (and the muscle)

THE LIQUID (and the bottle)

THE DRINK (and the glass)

I’m proud to say that I was able to do a split before my 40th birthday, and at 58, the pose still leaves me feeling exhilarated. 

Merry Christmas, yogis! May you find peace and joy in the season, in your relationships, (and in the presents you give and get)!

Eoin adjusting my friend, Carey, and me at a 2011 workshop

The old days at Wilhelm’s Wunderbares Deli und Danceteria in Germantown, NJ