MY YOGA TRIALS by Joanne Guidoccio
She
sighed deeply and tossed her Farrah Fawcett curls as she removed a borrowed
parka, three sizes too big for her perfectly toned body. She was not impressed
by winter in March and seven less-than-enthusiastic students in Sudbury,
Ontario. She spoke at length about her personal journey as a California yogini,
and then demonstrated her pretzel-like ability to contort her body in a variety
of poses.
Impressed
and intimidated, we did not look forward to the short lesson that would follow.
She
did not consider our neophyte status. Instead, she continued with her favourite
poses, and we all struggled to follow.
At
one point, I developed a tickle in my throat and started coughing
uncontrollably. I quickly left the room and closed the door behind me. I had a
drink of water, but my cough persisted. I decided to remain outside until the
end of the lesson.
I
assumed the walls were soundproof, but I was wrong. I found out later that my
loud and persistent cough was heard throughout the rest of the short yoga session.
When I re-entered the room, I received a few looks of concern and pity. As for
the blonde willow...she had become a blonde oak. She ignored me and left abruptly.
Fast
forward twenty years.
My
oncologist is talking about maintaining a healthy lifestyle after treatments. In
addition to the usual advice about portion control, exercise and stress management,
she strongly urged me to take up yoga. I smiled and tried not to show my
frustration. While memories of the blonde willow/oak had faded, I still balked
at the thought of forcing my body into difficult poses, especially after ten
months of gruelling treatments. She persisted and I grudgingly agreed to give
yoga another try.
I
bought the clothes—sleek, black yoga pants from Roots and a few Life is Good
t-shirts—and signed up for a weekly yoga class. The instructor was very
charming and highly recommended. He gave each of us individual attention during
the first class. At the beginning of the second class, the business cards came
out and he started to talk about his many sideline businesses. I noticed that
more time was spent promoting and selling his products and less time on the
yoga mats. By the third class, women were taking out their cheque books and
purchasing his wonder products. I was not impressed and did not return.
A
few months later, I heard about a new yoga instructor who was offering classes
in her own home. I decided to call first. She assured me there would be, at
most, two other students in the class and that the course was geared for
beginners with no previous experience. She sounded surprised when I asked if
she had a sideline business and stressed that yoga was her main focus.
Reassured,
I showed up and was pleased to see only two other students in the room. Within
a few minutes, however, a third participant arrived. An active and poorly
trained Boston terrier joined the class. She eyed me with interest. I was the
new girl in class, fresh meat. The dog spent a lot of time circling and
sniffing me throughout the hour-long class. As for what happened during
Downward Dog...
Three
yoga trials. Three strikes. Yoga was out.
All
that changed during the second summer after retirement.
I
had just picked up Wayne Dyer’s latest book, Excuses Begone! I read the entire book in two sittings and spent
time reflecting on his message. I was drawn to his suggestion for practicing
yoga. I kept returning to that section of the book and imagined myself having a
conversation with the motivational guru.
“You must give
it another try, Joanne. I’ve been practicing ninety minutes every day for the
past four years and I’ve noticed a lot of positive changes. I got rid of all
those aches and pains I inherited from three decades of daily running and
tennis.”
“That’s
wonderful, but I can’t see myself doing yoga every day. For one thing, I would
have to take lessons. I don’t like following DVDs or books. I’m not a natural
athlete.”
“So, take a few
lessons. What’s the big deal?”
“I’ve tried that
route before.” I gave him a brief summary of my three yoga trials.
He shook his
head. “It sounds like you lasted only a few sessions. You have to give yoga an
honest thirty-day trial.”
“Thirty days!” I
exploded. I couldn’t imagine lasting that long. “Do you know how expensive that
will be?”
He repeated,
“Give yoga an honest thirty-day trial.” He added, with twinkle in his eye,
“You’ll feel better and you may just stop making so many excuses.”He pointed to
the cover of his book.
I
was skeptical, but I had to admit he was right. I had not given yoga a fair
trial, and I had a tendency to make excuses. I decided to wait until the fall
and then investigate the different yoga studios in town.
A
few days later, the following ad appeared in a local paper:
|
Unlimited
Yoga during the months of July and August for $160
|
I
shook my head and imagined Wayne Dyer laughing. The universe has spoken. No
more excuses, Joanne.
I
planned to attend three classes a week and see how I felt by the end of the
summer.
I
was hooked after the first week.
The
classes were small and the instructors were able to work with me on an individual
basis. I test-drove all the instructors and then zeroed in on my favourites: Amy,
the social worker from Newfoundland who had completed her training in India;
Claudia, the young mother who offered a structured class that appealed to my
left brain tendencies; and Lisa, the quintessential willow.
I
found myself looking forward to each session. There was something immensely
comforting in the precision of the instructions: Inhale and raise both arms straight out from the shoulders parallel to
the floor with the palms facing down…Exhale slowly while turning the torso to
the left...One more long, luxurious inhalation, one more complete exhalation.
I
found it easy to focus on the smallest of movements, regardless of the group
size or time of day. I also liked listening to the soft, soothing Sanskrit
names—balasana, garudasana, tadasana,
savasana—that described the different poses. Much more interesting than
simply hearing child pose, eagle pose, mountain pose or corpse pose.
When
Lisa talked about controlling our monkey minds, I felt she was talking directly
to me. I could also imagine Wayne Dyer whispering, “Control your mind, and everything will fall in place.”
It
was reassuring to discover that all my body parts were working and reporting
faithfully for yoga duty. I felt myself growing healthier and stronger with
each stretch, breath and positive thought. And I didn’t feel pressured or
frustrated if I didn’t get the pose right the first time or at all. I kept
repeating the following mantra to myself: A
yoga pose is a journey, not a destination.
I
still have my personal challenges, but I am less reactive and more inclined to
let things go. I like that strange, beautiful place where I can step out of time
and leave all my concerns behind.
Namaste
In high school, I dabbled in poetry, but decided to wait until I had more life experiences before writing a novel. The original plan was to get a general arts degree and take a few years off to travel and write. Instead, I gave in to my practical Italian side and obtained degrees in mathematics and education.
While I experienced many satisfying moments during my teaching career, I never found the time and energy to write. In 2008, I took advantage of early retirement. Slowly, a writing practice emerged and my articles and book reviews started appearing in newspapers, magazines and online.
I live and write in Guelph, Ontario.
About Between Land and Sea by Joanne Guidoccio
After giving up her tail for an international banker, Isabella of the Mediterranean kingdom is aged beyond recognition. The horrified banker abandons her on the fog-drenched shores of southwest England, leaving her to face a difficult human journey as a plain and practically destitute fifty-three-year-old woman.
With the help of a magic tablet and online mermaid support, Isabella evolves into the persona of Barbara Davies. Along the way, she encounters a cast of unforgettable characters, among them former mermaids, supportive and not-so-supportive women, deserving and undeserving men, and several New Agers.
Where to find Joanne…
Website: www.joanneguidoccio.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joanneguidoccio
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BetweenLandandSeaJG
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jguidoccio/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7277706.Joanne_Guidoccio
Amazon: http://is.gd/AVpoVs
YouTube (Trailer #1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xipZ6quZDOs
YouTube (Trailer #2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfiKOQe_yuU
Please leave a comment to welcome Joanne Guidoccio to Spunky Senior Authors and Talents.
