Long story short, Mom & Dad chickened out at the Park City exit; the boys loaded into my car and I was now in charge of 3 nice young men, all of whom had had one skiing lesson in their life (the day before this drive). We made it safely to Deer Valley (my resort of choice), geared up and got on the mountain. This family, because they were from the deep south, had deeply ingrained manners to the boys. As we spent the day together, they were well-behaved and definitely having fun, skiing through trees (giving me some heart palpitations), jumping where jumps were available, being boys - boys with manners.
As we traversed the runs, I frequently heard my name being called: "Miss Leslie, Miss Leslie -- can we ski here? can we do this? can we do that?" Always prefaced by "Miss Leslie", and layered with a THICK southern accent.
Be careful what you tell people -- I told this story to my 'stiffer-than-most' couple; now, since they're also from the south, 'Miss Leslie' has become a part of their yoga session vocabulary, along with 'sanctuary' - when referring to their mats. They also tell me that the word "Yeah" - spoken with a definite decibel level increase - has worked it's way into their vocabulary when at home (I am known to utter this word as I teach -- kind of like "YEAH, that's what I'm talking about!!!").
Well, what do I take from this -- that they're listening. I heard yesterday that now they've both been told that yoga is maybe not the best for them - him, because of a torn meniscus (as a result of this, we are avoiding too much knee stuff); her, because her back was causing her pain. An MRI of her back was done and it turns out it's postural, the discomfort is being caused by the yoga -- standing up straight is resulting in muscles being sore from being asked to work (Yeah!). So the advice: "avoid yoga and your back pain will go away", in other words - slouch and you'll feel better. Ouch!
I listen, I contemplate, I reflect on their world - a world of many doctor visits due to multiple health issues, and I try to understand. I don't argue. I see benefit for both of them -- if just from the laughs we share. For me, it's marvelous to watch two people do movement and embrace the benefit. And, then, they tell me how much they are getting from the movement and the breathwork we do. Even with limitations, it's amazing!
So, "Miss Leslie" (for them), it is. I take it as a great compliment. To borrow a bit of Mariacristina's verbiage: 'may we all have students who tell us or show us (through their mannerisms, poses, etc.) what this practice is bringing into their lives'. So great.
Today's plans:
- Teaching Gentle Yoga at 10 am at The Yoga Center
- Change out a toilet seat at the studio (ah, the fun parts of yoga studio ownership)
- Handyman at the house this afternoon
- Tiffany's class this evening; fingers crossed
Hope your Tuesday is a good one,
No comments:
Post a Comment