Last Friday evening, I found myself in New York's Central Park. It was an incredible day. Blue skies prevailed above the towering skyline, the temperature was comfortable, and everywhere I looked, New Yorkers were . . .
relaxed.
Huh?
It's true. In the city of all that is hip, stylish, and, fast fast fast, I found leagues of the trendy playing organized kickball in the park. Yep, that kickball. The one from grade school with the really bouncy ball and running around bases until you make it home or get pegged. There was laughter, playfulness, and a feeling as if there wasn't a care in the world. Forget the economy. We're playing kickball.
We stood and watched mesmerized for a long while, and then, heading out of the park, walked to Times Square, haven of frenetic energy. After a very relaxing week in a tent in the Catskills, I was a bit nervous even thinking about the energy in Times Square.
As we approached this epicenter of stimulation, we noticed something very odd. Outdoor lounge chairs in the middle of the streets. Tourists sitting down and staring up. Querying one of the Times Square Association Guards (or Guides a little of both I suspect) as to the nature of the lawn chairs, the reply was,
"Didn't you ever just want to sit down and relax?"
This was the perfect answer and a maha aha moment.
I was at the tail end of my third week of the Spacious Breath of Summer project that I concocted for myself. I was there in the week of the 3rd R--RELAX, and a brawny security guard was offering an all too simple answer to my question. I tell you, this Northern Californian yoga teacher has a lot to learn.
As I too joined the throngs of tourists sitting in the middle of the street in Times Square (I hear that real Manhattanites find this new situation absurd, but maybe they just haven't taken the time to sit there yet.), I looked out at the lights, the ads, the still very present taxis and their requisite horns. My eyes had a hard time taking in all the sights, my ears the sounds, my body the energy . . . and yet, I felt totally relaxed.
To relax is actually something quite different than we tend to think of it. To relax means to "make less firm or rigid" to "ease up or back off." And, all of these definitions imply that there is still engagement happening. To relax is not to be lazy, but to find an easeful effort. To relax is to be able to take a moment to "just sit down." The world doesn't stop, but can you just watch if for a moment? As yogins, the very point is to be able to be in the world in an easeful way--not to run and hide from it. Not to turn our noses at the craziness of Times Square, but to sit right down in middle of it and relax. This is the yoga of course. To be at our ease amid the chaos.
Over the course of the next day and a half, we found ourselves returning to the sitting areas--our favorite was a permanent installation--risers that were lit from underneath looking over the length of Broadway. Sitting there, my son (who turned 13 that day) looked across at an enormous billboard of our ancestor, the missing link hominid dubbed Lucy, whose fossils were resting close by in an exhibit. Having a moment to spare, and a nice place to sit and have conversation, we explained what/who Lucy was and then again, rested back into the pause among the wildness.
A bit later, first gesturing towards the rendered eyes of Lucy and then down at the thousands who walked or sat in Times Square, and then gesturing even to the cars, the lights, the buildings, he stated, "It's amazing. From her, all of this."
What if we hadn't sat down in the middle of Time Square to relax?
An aha moment denied?
It's summer.
The living is easy . . . even when it's hard.
Sit down and relax.
You never know what revelation may be waiting for you.
relaxed.
Huh?
It's true. In the city of all that is hip, stylish, and, fast fast fast, I found leagues of the trendy playing organized kickball in the park. Yep, that kickball. The one from grade school with the really bouncy ball and running around bases until you make it home or get pegged. There was laughter, playfulness, and a feeling as if there wasn't a care in the world. Forget the economy. We're playing kickball.
We stood and watched mesmerized for a long while, and then, heading out of the park, walked to Times Square, haven of frenetic energy. After a very relaxing week in a tent in the Catskills, I was a bit nervous even thinking about the energy in Times Square.
As we approached this epicenter of stimulation, we noticed something very odd. Outdoor lounge chairs in the middle of the streets. Tourists sitting down and staring up. Querying one of the Times Square Association Guards (or Guides a little of both I suspect) as to the nature of the lawn chairs, the reply was,
"Didn't you ever just want to sit down and relax?"
This was the perfect answer and a maha aha moment.
I was at the tail end of my third week of the Spacious Breath of Summer project that I concocted for myself. I was there in the week of the 3rd R--RELAX, and a brawny security guard was offering an all too simple answer to my question. I tell you, this Northern Californian yoga teacher has a lot to learn.
As I too joined the throngs of tourists sitting in the middle of the street in Times Square (I hear that real Manhattanites find this new situation absurd, but maybe they just haven't taken the time to sit there yet.), I looked out at the lights, the ads, the still very present taxis and their requisite horns. My eyes had a hard time taking in all the sights, my ears the sounds, my body the energy . . . and yet, I felt totally relaxed.
To relax is actually something quite different than we tend to think of it. To relax means to "make less firm or rigid" to "ease up or back off." And, all of these definitions imply that there is still engagement happening. To relax is not to be lazy, but to find an easeful effort. To relax is to be able to take a moment to "just sit down." The world doesn't stop, but can you just watch if for a moment? As yogins, the very point is to be able to be in the world in an easeful way--not to run and hide from it. Not to turn our noses at the craziness of Times Square, but to sit right down in middle of it and relax. This is the yoga of course. To be at our ease amid the chaos.
Over the course of the next day and a half, we found ourselves returning to the sitting areas--our favorite was a permanent installation--risers that were lit from underneath looking over the length of Broadway. Sitting there, my son (who turned 13 that day) looked across at an enormous billboard of our ancestor, the missing link hominid dubbed Lucy, whose fossils were resting close by in an exhibit. Having a moment to spare, and a nice place to sit and have conversation, we explained what/who Lucy was and then again, rested back into the pause among the wildness.
A bit later, first gesturing towards the rendered eyes of Lucy and then down at the thousands who walked or sat in Times Square, and then gesturing even to the cars, the lights, the buildings, he stated, "It's amazing. From her, all of this."
What if we hadn't sat down in the middle of Time Square to relax?
An aha moment denied?
It's summer.
The living is easy . . . even when it's hard.
Sit down and relax.
You never know what revelation may be waiting for you.
