Same-Same But Different

There is a certain high I get after teaching a class. Even if the class doesn't go well. It is completely different from the high I get after going to a class myself.

When I was a freshmen in college, my best friend Ruby went to China. She came back with wonderful gifts and exciting (and hysterical) stories. She said that there were these 'underground' black market malls where you could purchase the finest of knock off and rip-off purses, watches and a number of other items that really do not truly matter to the story. Anyway, she did this wonderful impersonation of Chinese ladies holding purses up to passersby and exclaiming, "Louis Vuitton, Coach, Prada. Same-same but different!"

That is how I feel. "Same-same but different" after walking out of a class I just took or a class I just taught. Tonight, I taught a class that included two of my very dear friends and one of their 12 year old son's. It was interesting and enlightening, that's for sure. And beautiful. And silly. And exciting. And nerve-wracking  And clarifying. And it came from my heart.

I have been teaching one of the girls since before we were required to do any unsupervised teaching hours. We have been growing together in this; me a new yoga teacher and she new to yoga as a whole. I have so much respect for this woman and to watch her put herself in sometimes uncomfortable and maybe scary positions has offered me the opportunity to learn some of the most important lessons in my life to date.

The high I am on right now is full of yin energy. I am relaxed and clear headed. I am ready to eat something warm for dinner and continue reading "The Breath of Yoga." I feel like the edges in the world are slightly blurred. Like everything could just melt together and that would be all right. When I walk out of a yoga class, most of the time even if it was a low energy relaxing class, I am full of yang! I am ready to go. I am energized. I can see clearly and I know exactly where I am in relation to everything around me. These feelings are so incredibly the same yet so incredibly different. So, I thank you Ruby-- and China-- for providing me with the most perfect phrase to describe this incredible phenomenon.

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