CRESCENT LUNGEI get pissy sometimes, just like everybody else
does, when I’m dealing with everyday life and
other human beings are pushing my limits. Yoga
teaches me to notice when the mind goes there
and to bring it back to something positive.
I travel a lot, and things are bound to go
wrong when you travel. When I’m delayed at an
airport, if there’s no yoga room, I’ll often find a
spot in a corner to practice. I remember being
at an airport in Alaska one time and thinking,
“I need to do a headstand right now.” Another
time I was on a flight from Hong Kong, which is
already the most awful flight because it’s almost
twenty hours. On this particular trip there was a
baby next to me. The baby was not having a good
flight, which meant that no one was having a
good flight. I was thinking, “What kind of karma
am I being paid back for that I got this seat?”
But I try to remind myself to be compassionate,
and whenever I do that, it shifts me. I thought,
“That poor baby is uncomfortable,” and that
made me a little less uncomfortable.
In yoga, when you’re in a challenging pose,
you’ve got to surrender to it. If you get your-
self worked up, it doesn’t help. So you breathe
and redirect your energy.
The intention behind yoga is that we’re try-
ing to connect with our highest self, the part
of ourselves that isn’t our ego.
This is what the yoga teaches you: You’re
strapped into this airplane seat, you’re not going
anywhere for twenty hours, and this is your real-
ity. There’s nothing you can do but find some
calm and just deal with it. I’m really lucky to know
to take a deep breath and remind myself that
we’re all doing the best we can.