“Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road, healthy, free, the world before me.”
~ Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
When I have an intense day of activities I try to take lunch by myself. This is especially true when I’m in yoga teacher training sessions. I need that hour in the middle of a day of learning to just sit, be, and absorb with as much silence as possible. I find that if I can do that, I can be completely present with people in the morning and afternoon sessions because my batteries are recharged with that tiny amount of “me” time.
Falling in love again on Perry Street
I took some “me” time last Sunday, grabbed my lunch, and found a sunny spot along Perry Street, one of my favorite streets in New York. A few days ago I was watching Part 2 to the New York documentary series done by PBS. In that episode there is a discussion about Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman’s love letter to New York City. In hearing those words, I was reminded of how many people have come and gone along these streets, and how for everyone there is a new discovery of their New York City experience that mirrors what so many people have felt before. Those dreams with a light and airy quality are the ties that bind New Yorkers together across time.
Where did the air go?
A few days ago, I took a dosha test – a personality test of sorts that has its roots in Ayurvedic medicine. I was a little alarmed to see how much the “vatta” or “air” quality of my personality has been pushed aside. I’m grounded and action oriented, but a little bit more of that dreamer would be good for me. On Perry Street, I was able to remember that feeling of being very young and new to New York. Even though my love affair with this city has gone on for a dozen years, I still find something new here every day. Feeling my way through the development of Compass Yoga, and the therapeutic yoga training at Integral Yoga Institute in particular, I have been able to find some of that air again. I have a new skin, a new outlook on this city and my role in this community.
Somewhere in this 12 year relationship with New York, I’ve lost a bit of that dreamy, airy quality. I’ve been so focused on paying my school loans, striving, and achieving in a city that moves at an unstoppable pace that I’d forgotten how good it feels to just let the mind wander for a bit. It’s fun to see where it goes.
Dreaming helps the living
And the best part is that after even just a short period of dreaming over lunch on Perry Street, I could get back to the business of my yoga teaching training at Integral with a renewed, open sensibility. I could be more present with my classmates and teachers. My teaching was spot on and it felt amazing. So much for the theory of idle time being truly idle. In those dreamy moments, there is serious work going on that makes the rest of our time that much more valuable to those around us.
Christa Avampato 
Christa,
Thank You.
I think this is exactly what you needed, and for quite a while now too.
You are spot on. Your introspections are insightful, perceptive.
It’s not your fault, though. It is the nature of the Big Apple to encourage action oriented pragmatists; people who are well-grounded and get things done.
Dreaming is something that you do on your own time–a bit unfortunate–because our most valuable work can be a product of our more dreamy states of mind. In the Big Apple, however, dreamers may be considered “lazy” or worse.
I have a suggestion: why don’t you go on a mini-vacation on the weekends.
I wonder if you could re-vist the rural place where you grew up, or even Ithaca, home to Cornell University.
You will fall in love with Ithaca. It is such a beautiful place–very scenic and green and open spaces there. And it is not too far from where you live and work too. You can take a friend or ask a guy on a date and hang out there.
It is like a picnic spot and you can have plenty of time to dream over there.
That’s what weekends are supposed to be for anyway–just to relax and unwind and enjoy. Sometimes, it is necessary for all of us to seek out change. That may do you a world of good, in the end. Have a great time. Best wishes. Cheers.
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