Saturday, January 19, 2008

Yoga, Milwaukee, and the Post-season

There’s this guy who breaks the calm of every single Saturday morning yoga class by hugely and boisterously  whooping “Thanks, teacher!” immediately upon our gentle end-of-class “Namaste” murmur. It’s ice water every time, his abrupt loud cheeriness. I sometimes wonder if the people who run the Yoga Center pay him to do this, so that we learn how -- with a little effort -- we *can* return to the inside quiet created by the work of class. Everyone puts the props away then, usually, moving thoughtfully, with little cheery words back and forth.

After the guy yelled this morning, though, someone else said, “This cold! Good for the Pack!” 

And so while people rolled up their mats and stacked the blocks, they enthusiastically chatted about how the Giants can’t possible be ready for the kind of cold that settled on Wisconsin overnight. It was -- is -- the kind of cold from which people hide themselves (if they must go outside) inside Michelin Man down coats, huge furry hoods, gloves like small den-living animals, and grandma-knit scarves. You can’t see faces. You see breath steam only. But before they got bundled, all the yoga people doing this talking this morning -- all this talk about Favre, the point spread, and last week’s game -- all these yoga people had been in their delicate yoga clothing balancing their torsos over their carefully balanced hips. We were after quiet together up until the moment class ended. Then we were after not that. 

Yoga would never have been invented in Milwaukee. There’s the playoff game tomorrow, and we live here now.

2 comments:

Luke and Marla said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Luke and Marla said...

And since you live here now, perhaps Ram Dass can help bridge the gap between yoga and the playoffs: "Be here now."

Of course, what happens when the Packers lose?! Then it's all about next year and "will Favre return"?? So much for "be here now."