Baby loves his salsa...no chips needed.
Now for a happy story:
I had a yogi grab me after class and tell me a story about his father-in-law who at 86 suffered a very rough last couple of days (recently) due to the muscle crippling disease ALS. His FIL had been a devout yogi for the last year or so of his life and it became a big part of his life. It gave him a freedom over the disease and a comforting power over his body again. Within 24 hours of his last breath this gentleman asked to get out of bed and stand. With much assistance from the nurses and his walker he got his feet on the ground. My yogi (the gentleman's son-in-law) told him to "find all 4 corners of his feet", he wiggled his slippers. "Mountain Pose" and the tired old man stood as erect as he could with his chin held high.
Oh my own heart swelled in my chest and tears welled up in my eyes and the corners of my mouth stretched to my ears with this supremely happy thought now on my heart. I'm so incredibly lucky to know this man and to have this job where people feel connected enough to share these incredibly awesome stories with me.
We're coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my Grandma's death. She would have turned 91. Her body betrayed her years and years before she died. She struggled psychically with osteoporosis and it hurt us all to see how much pain she was in on a daily basis. If only I had known more about yoga those years ago, maybe she could have some of that empowering feeling of still being in control of her body even for a split second. I can't imagine the feeling that you're body is no longer yours, you have nothing left to control, you're a the mercy of a failing system...how sad. But so very uplifting to think about my yogi's father-in-law and to know he got to feel that control and power just one last time.
Stand tall today. Love your body, take care of it.
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