The School of Hard Knocks

For the last two days my yoga classes have been punctuated with constant, heavy banging above the ceiling. They're re-roofing the building where I take my classes, so the serenity of a typical yoga class is hard to maintain. The banging is so loud I can feel the vibrations of every thud all through my body, especially when I'm doing the beginning and end of class meditations. No matter. I'm pleased to say that the noisy distractions which I could feel as well as hear were rendered null and void by being forced to go deeper into myself so that I could find some stillness and quiet. It's great to discover that I'm able to feel so calm amidst such chaos. When the class was over I felt even looser and more relaxed than I usually do after yoga.
I'll be glad when the roofers are gone, but in the meantime I've learned a valuable lesson. I learned that there's no point in trying to simply ignore something, especially when I don't have any control over it. To "ignore" something so in-your-face is almost impossible. It's much easier to put your attention elsewhere with equal intensity. And I do have control over my mind and my body, so that's what I focussed on more than ever. I listened hard to my insides. I dwelt within myself with such clear intention that I swear I could hear the blood flow through my veins. It was awesome. The clanging and banging on the roof were no longer in my sphere of attention. William James, the father of modern psychology (and brother to Henry James) said that your experience is what you attend to. So I attended to my breath and my body, which is the whole point of yoga, and the rest of the world fell away.
I will take that lesson with me out into the world for the rest of my life. Next time something or someone loud and annoying is paying me an unwelcome visit, I shall close my eyes, breathe deeply and slowly, and visit my inner self. I trust her.
- G. P.