Last night I went to ISHTA Yoga for the first time since Hurricane Sandy hit. I deeply missed my yoga home and being away from it made me realize how important it is for me as a staple in my life. We are so lucky that the studio didn’t incur any damage other than loss of power.
On my way to the studio, I was conscious of how tight and uncomfortable I was. This week I had two interviews for new freelance work that went very well though the preparation days leading up to them left me surprisingly stressed. They are both wonderful jobs and I’m eager to work with these mission-driven organizations. The roles are highly creative and dovetail perfectly with my passion for education.
While I was preparing for these interviews, I also spent a fair amount of my energy getting my head around the difficulties being faced by so many of my fellow New Yorkers in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. It’s as if we are living in two parallel worlds. One in which life is perfectly fine and proceeding as normal, and 5 miles away one that has descended into complete chaos with leveled homes, unbelievable loss of life and valuables, no power, no running water, and no heat. And all of this on the eve of another storm heading our way that may bring us our first dusting of snow and 60 mile per hour winds.
As I settled down onto my mat, I was considering how best to care for an open heart, how to be with people in times of distress without inheriting that stress. It is difficult but it can be done. And the trick is in our roots.
As my teacher, Douglass Stewart, walked into the room and began to talk us through our class. I felt myself release down into the mat, down into the Earth. What I’ve been missing in these past few days is the stability of grounding. Douglass, who always seem to know the perfect thing to say at every moment, asked us to firmly plant ourselves down, through our feet and hands, to feel that the Earth below us is stable and supportive. He asked us to recognize that the further we sink our roots, the higher we can fly. I felt that sentiment so strongly that my eyes began to fill up. That was my missing link.
When we feel like the wind is whipping us around, when we feel like everything around us is swirling at breakneck speed, it’s the ability to root down, to find that which gives us stability and strength, that helps us to rise. I am so grateful to ISHTA for being a part of that which helps me feel rooted so that I can be free and available to be of service, particularly in times of difficulty.
Keep breathing, New York. We’ll get through this together.
Christa Avampato 