Connectedness

I walked into a store to return something.  I shop at this store frequently.  There is always the same familiar face to greet me.  Nice lady.  She had been gone for awhile.  Today she was back.  I had to stop and check in with her because I was returning an item.  She was talking to another employee.
This is what I heard.

 Employee:  ...and you can't even sue them because of...( mumble, mumble) ?

Greeter:  (shaking her head no)

Employee:  Well, I hope you feel better.

Still shaking her head she looks up at me and smiles.

Me: Hello. (I hand her my item so that she can make her little sticker to put on it.)

Greeter:  Those doctors don't know what they are doing.  I went in for a ruptured disk in my spine and the worked on the wrong one.  I went home and had to go back that same day for another surgery.  I was on the ventilator for two days.

Me: (shaking my head more out of pity than anything)  That's not good.

Greeter: No.

Me: Feel better.

And I went about my way.

SIGH......

Now I try to be a positive person.  I really do.  And most of the time, I believe I do a good job of it.

But, what is wrong with this little interlude that I encountered?  Better yet, what is NOT wrong with this interlude.  It's all wrong.  Wrong, wrong, wrong!  I'm going to get high up on my soapbox right now because I was disturbed by this woman. 
.
I wonder how many people she has/will tell about her misfortune and how THEY (the doctors) don't know what THEY are doing?  Where is her responsibility for herself?  How did her spine get injured in the first place?  I doubt it was because she was sprinting in to save a baby from a burning house.  I don't think she fell out of a tree saving a cat.  I do believe that it has was due to YEARS of bodily neglect, YEARS of eating crap and YEARS of being sedentary, stressed and anxious to the very point that her poor body is so drained and worn out that she struggles to take every breath. (hence the oxygen tank by her side.)
How dare she say the doctors don't know what they are doing.  She hasn't a clue how to properly take care of the basic necessities of life that got her in this mess in the first place.  How dare she. 

Just a quick word on doctors.  Doctors go above and beyond, spending many years and thousands of dollars to become physicians.  It takes guts and courage, strength and will power to believe in yourself to that degree.  When they finish the rigerous training, they spend their entire careers in the grace of helping others.  Can you tell me what that greeter at Walmart has aspired to?  Not that I'm judging.  I believe it takes all kinds to make this world go around.  But I think it rude, distasteful and wrong to badmouth a doctor who was helping her, to some random stranger coming into the store, no less.

What is wrong with these people? 
What is wrong with me? 
Why the attitude? 
Why do I feel so strongly against her behavior/ ignorance?
 It really struck a cord with me. 
And as irritated as i am about the exchange this morning, I'm as ashamed by my anger.
 I'm ashamed that I allowed her vibration of negativity and ignorance permeate at a higher level than that of my peaceful vibration.  It was stronger.  It won.  My peaceful vibration should have been the higher charged, but it wasn't, and it affected my day.
What can I say?
I'm only human.
The kicker here?  The realization?
So is she.
We're both human.
I'm as human as that store greeter who is struggling each day to take a breath.
I'm as human as that store greeter who is suffering back pain. 
We are sharing this earth, this human experience, the pain, the irritation, frustration, as well as happiness, peace and fulfillment. 
We both feel all that and more, to greater and lesser extent, but none the less, we are one.
Maybe next time, I can take a minute to connect and allow peace to prevail and outweigh the frustration, pain, hurt she was feeling.  Maybe those negative words she spoke would have ended with me. 
And this was my yoga lesson for the day.
Thank you Walmart Greeter lady.

Yoga Flow

I decided to try a new class, emphasizing the flow of yoga linked with the breath.  Too often, I feel like my students are busy trying to follow along as I talk talk talk through the poses, directing the toes, breathing through the belly, lifting the spine, stretching this, move that, exhale here, inhale there, spread the fingers, strengthen the back...yada yada yada.  Not that those verbal cues aren't good, they are...but it seemed I was talking the WHOLE time for pete's sake.  And who's Pete anyway?

SO, I came up with a few positions that flowed well and that were easy to remember.  We did them five times through.  And then another flow of four or so positions, we did five times through,  and yet a third flow.  We then linked the three flows together.  I tried not to talk too much through it.  I wanted each individual to feel the yoga as if it were their own.  I threw in a couple, "breathe ins," and "exhales."  I also encouraged each one to close their eyes to keep the flowing energy within themselves.
It really turned out to be a lovely experience and a lovely class. 

Also, it was outside, on my back patio, which speaking of lovely, it is now with all the trees that have filled in and the flowers.  It really makes the perfect backdrop for finding the flow of peace and yoga.

May you find your flow of peace and yoga.

Lil Yoga Mama