Week of the Yogi and Very Wet Phones

introducing Walter, star of the week and king of attitude

Have you ever found yourself in a dark room, dripping with sweat, being told to use gravity to your advantage?

If not, you've probably never signed up for a week of HOT POWER YOGA while on a stay-cation in the heart of Amsterdam Centrum. If yes, then I congratulate you and also question your sanity, as I questioned mine in the midst of a risky one-handed backbend.

For those of you who didn't know, I don't live in Amsterdam. If you've heard me say that, it's just a convenient nearest-biggest-city excuse. In actuality, I live in a smaller suburb, called Bussum, which is about 20 minutes away. It's a greener, quieter, lake-ier space; perfect for my introverted side.

This week I had the opportunity to stay in Amsterdam and watch a dog. I decided to treat it like a week-long course of self-betterment-- the first of the many mistakes I was about to make. I approached my self-made betterment retreat like I've learned to approach my artwork. In creating work, I've discovered I work best by giving myself these three essentials:

A DEADLINE AND SPACE:

A week in an Amsterdam apartment

GOALS:

Wake up early, exercise/meditate every day, and make space to reflect artistically

TOOLS:

A dog that likes to wake up at ungodly hours, yoga classes you can't cancel, and ALL of my drawing/writing stuff (that was an ambitious bike ride)

I can't tell you exactly why I'm always ending up in yoga, despite my being decidedly bad at it. Perhaps it's just that; I've done a lot of yoga in the past and just never had the knack for it, and that drives me crazy. However, the warmer days have been coming and I every time I look in the mirror I'm struck by the wandering thought of gotta get that summer bod. . .

Mistakes were made.



The first being that, in an effort to not die of thirst in a 100-degree (36 in Celsius) yoga studio I drowned both myself, my backpack, and subsequently my phone in water. On the FIRST day of my stay-cation. Overeager much? Jokes aside, I took it in stride-- treating it as a technological baptism and a radical move towards focus and reflection; uninterrupted by group chats and an Instagram addiction.


Luckily, I didn't need my alarm much (although I still set one on my wristwatch-- what is this, the 1800's?) because I had a little wire-haired Dachshund named Walter who devotedly licked my face at 5:15 AM. Now let's be clear: 5:15 is not morning. At 5:15 it's still dark outside, which makes it nighttime.


Let's just summarize and say I never got used to it.


These two things + HOT POWER YOGA set the week's mood. And despite the undercurrent of sarcasm you may have picked up thus far, I did, in fact, prevail. I also discovered a smaller branch of HOT POWER YOGA called "yin yoga" which became my go-to when hours of walking the dog and waking up at 5 got to me. I was actually quite touched by the practice. It's based on two things: using only gravity, not force, to pull you deeper into a pose, and body awareness. Not to mention a dark classroom to hide you from your own embarrassing inability.



It was challenging to strike a pose and hold it quietly for five minutes-- not push yourself into "accomplishing" the hardest posture. You can't fake a yoga pose for five minutes. I found myself meeting myself at my present ability, honestly and gently. The class often felt like an overly-warm hug, the earth's gravity gathering you into a pretzel stretch.



So here I am, end of the week, back in leafy Bussum just a little more flexible, with a dead (baptized?) phone and feeling ready to wrap up the school year. My self-made yoga retreat ended surprisingly successfully. My art practice has also been like that recently; a little too ambitious, full of mistakes, and surprisingly successful. It's a good feeling, actually. My summer body may not be particularly ready, and I know this last month of school will difficult, but if themes hold, everything's going to work out in the end.



With the help of my Dutch family, we hosted a little garden party with a handful of close friends yesterday. It had a similar theme of the week; people canceling, failed vegan chia seed pudding, and ambitious time limitations. And despite that, we had a lovely gathering of some of my best friends here in the Netherlands, all hugged and surrounded by a beautiful garden and my Dutch family.  Looking around, I had the same sensation I had in yin yoga; stretched and hugged and most importantly, loved.