No Savasana? How about Breakfast for Dinner?

Sometimes we have to roll with the punches.  Yesterday, for example, I had the now rare opportunity to attend a daytime, weekday yoga class. One of my favorite Yoga teachers was substituting for one of my other favorite yoga teachers.  From the moment I found out that I could attend, I truly began to look forward to my teacher's usual, comforting, opening guided mindfulness meditation and chanting, the gentle asanas, and the wonderful savasana.



But, things did not go completely "as planned."  While our teacher did do a beautiful opening and some great movements for relieving tension, our class ended abruptly as the next class scheduled to use the studio - some vibrant, upbeat, and talkative belly dancers - walked in just as we were about to lay down for savasana.  In all fairness, the gym schedules the classes in a rediculous manner - our class ends at 12:30 and the belly dancing class starts at 12:30, with no cushion in-between.

This slipped the mind of our substituting teacher, and judging from the disappointed looks many of us had on our faces as we slipped out of the room, we were left feeling like something was missing. And something was: our expectation had not been fulfilled.  What we had planned in our heads and what we have come to expect simply did not come to pass, and we felt shaken.  It took some time to recoup and appreciate what we did receive from the class and get beyond what we did not get.

We are creatures of habit, and for those of us who consider our yoga practice to be our spiritual practice, it can take some adjustment to transition from the serene, peaceful world of the yoga studio and the places we travel mentally and spiritually during the sacred yoga class gathering to the reality of the world we walk into and the lives we lead when we walk out of the studio. 

Our teacher felt so badly about this mishap and explained this too us. We love her dearly and told her not to worry.  Sometimes things don't work out just as we had planned, and we have to roll with it. It's kind of like those nights when you plan on coming home and making a nice, somewhat involved dinner, only to end up working late, getting stuck in traffic, and wanting to do nothing but park yourself in front of the television to catch up on some of that guilty pleasure that you've been Tivo-ing.

On nights like these, I like to make breakfast for dinner. If life is going to feel upside down, then I'm just going to go with it.  And because I anticipated an interesting Tuesday, having had Monday off for the holiday and having extreme PMS, I planned this week's home menu with breakfast for dinner.  I knew that I could use this to go with the flow in what could otherwise be a stressful evening or one where we end up eating something really unhealthy just to have it fast and without effort.

To be fair, I did not have to stay at work late today, but nonetheless, breakfast for dinner it was.  I enjoyed chopping up the onions, peppers, mushrooms, and other goodies, knowing that a healthy meal was going to be on the table in no-time, and with no stress. 

Sometimes savasana doesn't happen. Sometimes we eat breakfast for dinner.  When we begin to accept life's mini twists and turns, we prepare ourselves for those bigger, unexpected detours. And, we can live more happily in the very present Now.


Namaste,
Debbie aka Sulilo