Head Above Water

When I was a kid and took baths regularly, I would lay my head back in the bathtub and just keep my nose and my mouth barely out of the water to breath. I would see how still I could become trying not to move a muscle. Something weird happens when your ears are submersed. Any noises become muffled and instead of hearing you sense the vibrations. My little brother running down the hallway, my mom working in the kitchen, or someone slamming a door. I know now I was practicing stillness. What is it like to suspend yourself peacefully in chaos?

While in Mexico last week I was on a boat ride, and we stopped to catch fish. I had to pee and that required jumping off the boat. Admittedly I am not a big water person, or a super skilled swimmer and I was scared to jump off the side of the boat into the middle of the ocean. Once in the water, I found myself expending a ton of energy treading water. I was acting cool, but my heart was racing, it was hard to breath, and I felt like the waves kept slapping me in the face and I was getting water up my nose.

I reminded myself to relax. I stopped working so hard and was able to float. Suspend peacefully in chaos because in the stillness is where we renew our strength, see the path forward, make a plan of action. Keep our heads above the water.

Life is going to offer challenges and clearly our struggles worldwide are enormous. Coming off two years of a pandemic created loneliness the likes which we have never seen, and mental illness is a major concern for young and old. And now the war in Ukraine. When the weight of the world is heavy it can be difficult to keep your head above the water…to be able to just manage.

In the end, I did not jump off the boat alone.

It helps to be together. Whatever the task is that lies ahead, you are not alone.

I am teaming up with Claire Mark and Liz MacIntosh and offering a benefit yoga class for Adults and Kids at yogaview in Wilmette. Thursday, March 24th from 6-7p CST and all money collected will be donated to Save the Children in an effort to do something for the people of Ukraine. Click HERE to sign up. Donations are CASH or VENMO (@Jenny-Kaufman-3).

I was in Mexico on a yoga retreat as a student, not as a leader, and it was a welcome change. But Jessica Sandstrom and I are back at it February 2023, teaming up for the final LIVE LOVE YOGA retreat. A retreat can provide you time alone but also time with new and old friends, amazing food, and plenty of nature anchored by two daily yoga practices. If you are inclined, click HERE for more info.

Reach out to one another. It will help keep us all afloat.

xoxo

JK