Yesterday I was looking forward to taking yoga at my usual Monday spot, noontime with Jene. I had stuffed myself silly on Easter with pasta and garlic bread, more so than any kind of chocolate candy. I needed to sweat out the carb bloat. About 15 minutes before class Jene called me and informed me she was way too sick to make it too class – a last minute can’t leave the bathroom kind of sick. She asked if I could teach and I didn’t hesitate to say yes. We’ve all been there with that kind of sickness right? It’s awful. Now I knew Jene was a popular teacher and people weren’t going to be too happy that she wasn’t teaching. They come just for her class. And add to that the humidity wasn’t working either. You have some grouchy yogis. I walked in around 12 and informed them there was a change of plans. The daggers immediately came out. Now when that happens I can have two reactions – fight back with indifference, negativity, anger (ie if they are going to be nasty, I’ll be nasty back) or try to diffuse that energy with my own grounding, accepting, take it as it comes kind of energy. I told them all this could be great real life yoga practice for them. Taking the unexpected and dealing with it head on instead of resisting and creating more suffering. And you know, they did a good job taking an unexpected situation and turning it into a positive one. The energy shifted from daggers and resistance to a group who was focused and connected.
We have that ability to diffuse negative energy in any situation. It’s not always easy, but if you meet resistance with acceptance, it has to change. If you meet resistance with more resistance, you breed a whole lot of suffering.
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