Bleeding hearts and liberals...

I always hated the way that 'phrase' sounded...

Thursdays are always a wash for me usually...it's towards the end of the week and now I am teaching a Yoga class on Thursdays – (see my post about the woman with oxygen in the class). This time I was armed with waiver forms and info sheets (to gather info on my students).

I had two students who were very confused about breathing asking me questions about breathing. When I teach my class I talk about breath a lot - to me it is the one thing everyone can relate to and understand – but sometimes even when you explain things in the simplest terms, others struggle to understand. One woman was asking me why I directed her to breathe down into her feet – well I wasn't suggesting she breathe with her feet - I was telling them to take their breath all the way down to their toes and feet. Another asked me about holding the breath (I had never told them to hold their breath) but she also was getting very 'hung up' on the breathing techniques. So it prompted me to talk to the class about 'not marrying the fly' - to not get hung up on the idea of breathing, to breath LSD (long, slow, deep) breaths as long as they felt comfortable breathing that way. Mainly to try to bring attention to their breath.

For the most part it was a much better class. And my ‘oxygen’ lady did just fine and is seeing her cardiologist on Monday and will get a note from him then...

**************

So I went home jumped in a hot shower, played on the computer a bit and decided to tune into ER, I don’t know why, just something to zone out too...

I really need to take the advice I give to my students. Last night I talked briefly as I opened the class about 'you are what you eat' but in a much broader sense: 'You are what you read, who you hang out with, what music you listen to, what movies/TV you watch' and so on – so part of me believes that your psyche is affected by violent images (at least mine is – it always has been - I can't really watch gory/horror movies or extremely violet movies and not have nightmares).

So on ER they decided to send the character 'Pratt' to Darfur in the Sudan. And it wasn’t so much that it was really violent, but it really disturbed me – as the entire issue about the Genocide going on over there disturbs me. It should disturb us all (just like the AIDS epidemic should), we are concentrating on killing other people in 3rd world countries instead of saving them. What is wrong with us? Why isn't this being stopped? I have been really remiss in not writing about these issues (shame on me – shame on all of us for ignoring this). And I am not thrilled with it becoming a Hollywood production number or an ET (Entertainment Tonight) segment/cause celeb…cause that’s bullshit too – I don’t need ER or George Clooney pointing out what I *should* be doing…

I was left with dreams, dreams of black men killing and being killed, of people being burned, of women and girls being raped...murdered.

Do I want these images taken from me? You bet I do! (Sort of the way in the Bible it talks about Jesus praying in the garden at Gethsemane asking for a 'way out' of what he was about to face). However, I don’t think amnesia or 'sweet dreams' escaping from the horrors, or from the suffering we see everyday is the right answer either. I need to be reminded; I need to be angry, outraged – as do we all about such atrocities. How do we help? (Is the question). In the face of such suffering we often feel helpless insignificant, but there has to be a way to help these people that are being systematically wiped off the planet. We fight harder for the friggin' spotted owl than we do for our fellow humans. Why is that?

I went to a site today, signed a petition. I will figure out a way to donate some money. But can I actually go there? No of course not and what would I do if I did go over there – teach Yoga? (I am just so pathetic at times). But again I believe if enough of us stand up, speak out, rant, rave INSIST on something begin done – that our voices CAN be heard and we WILL make a difference.

So I guess the lesson here is the next time you feel like bitching about your lot in life (yes, including moi) – think about those people suffering, well just about anywhere else in the world, and shut the hell up.