True Hearts Yoga

Yesterday was rough. My mother and I transported her mother from a care facility in Federal Way to her senior living home in Vancouver, WA. This is approximately a 4-hour excursion. A long time to be in a car with my grandmother. This may sound harsh, but my grandmother is a difficult person to be around. Between her constant complaining, her biting judgments about everyone around her, and her persistent need for validation as a person, it can take a lot out of you just to sit next to her. This isn't new, its how she has always been, except now that she is in her 80's, every part of this is magnified. Sure, she has a lot to complain about. And because I am NOT her, I cannot judge, and say that if I were in her shoes, I would feel differently. But because she is so caught up in her misery, all things beautiful pass her by, as if she were a stone wall. Nothing can penetrate, all things just slide away. Her mindset has her mired in a pit of lonesome sorrow. I ...

I had the opportunity to teach a yoga class to a high school drama club last week. Although I generally fear teenagers (even when I was one), I surprisingly didn't feel nervous. I was once a drama club teen, and thespians tend to be a bit more accepting and open than your normal, everyday youth. Although they still go through angst and daily hormonal avalanches, they do so with a bit more humor and enthusiasm than regular kids. My experience proved this to me. Meadowdale High School normally hosts a retreat for drama club members the first week of school. Its usually an off-site, over- night affair, but due to budget cuts (grumble) they had been limited to a Friday all-day event at the theater near the school. This was, I believe, the first time they had a yoga instructor come to the retreat, and I was happy to be there. Because I got to the theater early, I had to wait out in the parking lot to wait for the doors to be opened. The group of teens was eagerly waiting in a ...