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Friday, February 22, 2013

May the Muse be With You (and also with you)


I’m a head-sweater.

That’s head-sweater, not head sweater. 

There’s a difference, you know.  Talk to any head-sweater, they’ll tell you:  one causes sweat to pour from your hairline, obstructing your vision.

The other just obstructs your vision.

I reflect upon this, of course, mid-way through a yoga class.

“Connect with your breath,” says the instructor.  “If you find that you’ve lost sight of your breath, return to it, and return to your intention.”

I inhale raggedly and return to my intention, which involves envisioning my muse, a miniscule, fat-headed being that flies about, temple-high, spinning in tiny, ecstatic circles.

“Wheeeeee!” he says.

I mop the sweat from my eyes and smile. 

“There you go, Pearl,” the yogi says.  “Movin’ to expert-level yoga pose, huh?”

I don’t look at him.  The sweat pours down my face, pools at my collar bones.  I continue to smile.

I come to yoga to shut up, to turn my mind off, to do exactly what I’m told.  For an hour there’s nothing but the incredible heat, the yogi’s voice and my need to do nothing but listen to it, to let go of everything that has gone on before it.


The muse spins rapturously.  

27 comments:

vanilla said...

That's what it takes? I shall never find my muse.

Linda O'Connell said...

The voices in my head would be arguing with Yogi. Wipe your brow, mop your collar and have a great day. Snow day here.

Pearl said...

Wheee! Come on, vanilla. It's not too late!

Linda, we got about 4 inches last night in Minneapolis, but that's not enough to really slow anything down...

Sioux Roslawski said...

Pearl--I am a whole-body-sweater. Hot yoga? No thanks. Hot flashes? Unfortunately, yes.

Yahoo--you're going to be in a NYMB. Now you had better submit to other books in their series.

And yes, 4 inches in Minneapolis is not enough to even get you folks to button up your coats. But for idiots here in St. Louis, it's more than enough.

(Did you see that Minneapolis is one of the top three well-read cities in the country? Look it up. I'm not lying.)

Leenie said...

Speaking of head sweaters...did you know if you put a hooded sweater on backwards that you go blind? Oh, back to the Muse---Yogi says we need to go looking for pic-a-nic baskets.

TexWisGirl said...

i once knew a fellow who, when he got nervous, his nose sweated. so sad.

Connie said...

I admire anyone who can smile while sweating that much, and if it brings on your muse too, well, that's another feather in your cap! (Or in your head sweater, maybe, if you have one.)

Namaste, Pearl! Have a great weekend! :-)

Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax! said...

I reckon you can only see your breath when it's very cold. Something's going wrong here.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari Om
I'm with my Gurudev from whom comes the famous quote "If I was intended to be twisting the body into loops, Bhagavan would have made me of rubber!"

Simple meditation does it for me. The minute I switch the mind off there are all the words I forgot earlier in the day.....

Anonymous said...

You are sweating, your muse is dancing and going wheee...wait....you have trouble turning your brain off????? I have trouble turning mine ON.

Joanne Noragon said...

Yoga class is merely an excuse to imagine to the Nth degree. From the sublime to the, possibly, ridiculous. But they're just ribsplitting when we finally hear them.

jenny_o said...

The last time something spun rapturously in my head I'm pretty sure it was vertigo.

Have a spinny day, Pearl!

Hilary said...

It seems that any time I try yoga, all I connect with is my inner and outer klutz.

Jackie said...

I'm impressed that your sweat pools at your collar bones. Thank goodness that you have those valleys there.
Mine: pours right on down and irrigates the girls. Sigh.
I'm a head sweater, too...but I don't have the nice pooling places.
Love your blog.
Yes, I do.
Hugs,
Jackie

Travis Erwin said...

Pretty certain my muse is a French prostitute but she hates to go fishing so when I need to shut her up I stand knee deep in a trout stream.

Kana said...

Awww I want to draw the fat-headed muse. I imagine him like a happier version of this guy: http://raginanchor.blogspot.com/2012/11/incorporeal-corporeal-incorporated.html

Watson said...

I think gathering yourself into yoga and picturing your whirling muse gives you lots of ideas to entertain us with! :-)

Stef said...

That sounds glorious!

Juli said...

I gotta be honest... I don't think my muse is a bald sweaty guy who can twist himself into a pretzel. :)

Maybe a bald man with an ice cream sundae...

Roses said...

Wow. Good for you honey.

I've not been back since last Autumn.

I'm a hand and foot sweater. I have to keep baby powder nearby me, otherwise I slide around the mat like an 80s breakdancer.

River said...

If your sweat is pouring and pooling you're either working too hard or they need to adjust the air conditioning to something a little lower than hellish.
I hate to sweat, which is a bit of a problem since I live in one of the hottest countries on earth. I'm a face-sweater and under boobs-sweater, I use a lot of baby powder under my bra but can't on the face, it would cake and trickle....

River said...

If your sweat is pouring and pooling you're either working too hard or they need to adjust the air conditioning to something a little lower than hellish.
I hate to sweat, which is a bit of a problem since I live in one of the hottest countries on earth. I'm a face-sweater and under boobs-sweater, I use a lot of baby powder under my bra but can't on the face, it would cake and trickle....

Amy said...

I laughed when I read the first line. A dear friend of mine, to honor his dog who'd passed, used to wear a dog sweater on his head. Dog sweater, not dog-sweater. ;)

Unknown said...

I guess you might say I'm a sweater sweater; I avoid wearing them most of the time because I'm hot enough!

Elephant's Child said...

Hot yoga? Shudder.

Head sweating? Sadly yes, and when it runs through my eyebrows and into my eyes not only is it not a good look, it hurts. I should move to a cooler climate.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

I may not be a head sweater but I am often a bloody headache........lol

lime said...

oh i do know of this head-sweating in yoga class. yes.i.do. and it is bliss when it all comes together.