Yoga Matter

From the desk of Teresa Jordan – When COVID was just a typo when I meant to say “Covert,” I used to go to yoga class twice per week. Yoga time was my time to unwind and, well, do some yoga.

Each week it was pretty much the same small band of amateurs participating, including a woman I will call Nicole. Nicole always arrived 5 minutes after we had begun, blurted an excuse of some calamity that had befallen her, and then plunked down her mat on the floor.

Here’s is the thing about Nicole – she never rolled her mat. It was always a crunched-up mess sprawled on the floor. Now, it takes about 38 seconds to roll up a yoga mat and then the next time you need it, it will roll smoothly onto the floor. And yet, week after week, Nicole had a total disaster, rushed in grumbling while the rest of us were already in the breathing-stretching zone, and plopped that wrinkled mat down with a huge sigh.

I have no theory here, just an observation. We all rolled. At the end of class we would talk and connect and roll our mats… then we’d tuck those well-rolled mats under our arms and carry on.

None of this modelling, example setting, peer pressure moved Nicole to action. In the end, I guess she had to be true to herself – she had her own priorities, and she was clear about what they were. She never missed a class, she was fun when she was there, and it did not seem to bother her one bit that she was not conforming. She was overtly individual and she was clear in her own priorities, needs and patterns.

I can respect that.

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