A Fresh Look at Relaxation from the Green Room
An Early Life Discovery
I once got fired from a volunteer job for being too much of a free spirit!
The job was called Mountain Ambassador, which involved guiding people around Whistler Mountain on skis and answering questions to help them find their way. I must say, I gave some cool tours and showed people powdery places they wouldn’t normally find—sometimes just outside the boundary lines.
It felt to me like the boss wanted me to be more tense and excited, nervous and hyper-vigilant—like her. She tended to hire people like that. I didn’t fit that script, and my friend nailed it by saying, “You’re too relaxed to work for her!” Fair enough. A clear indication—and early discovery—that I was more suited to doing what I loved: teaching relaxation through yoga.
One can look at relaxation from the perspective of:
the body—feeling soft and cat-like
from the mind—at ease and not resisting anything; and
emotionally—nothing bubbling up presently.
Great, of course, but temporary.
The most profound relaxation, however, is resting in oneself—meaning one’s nature is recognized as being untouched and undisturbed, in and through the many changes and challenges of a person’s life. Even in stressful situations, one can have objectivity and clear perspective.
The Green Room Example
Like in a theatre, the actors have a changing room (called the green room) to reset their costumes and change roles in the play. The actor remains free from the changing roles—taking on and off the clothes of various characters. Untouched by the pain of the beggar or the pressures of the king, the actor is free to improvise and entertain—relaxed and untouched in and through the roles.
Swamiji says, “Relaxed like a babe in mother’s arms”, and “Rested like there’s no agenda for things to be different.”
Knowing life is unfolding in order—exactly as it needs to, on all levels. Do we want to reshape mountains? Repaint the skies green? No—we love nature as it is. Let that extend to every person and every being, and especially to oneself. Be gentle with one’s own heart, living with Dharma and free from conflict—and naturally, we are relaxed.
What a joy to teach this! Every yoga class offers an opportunity to guide people back “home,” to rest in oneself. This is a job I’ll never get tired of—or fired from! It’s sharing love.
/Sky
