June 19th, 2022
Lucy Berkin Recap
Announcements > Special Guests
Written by Jay Koh
Several people have told me that they wanted to attend class to see our honored guest Lucy Berkin, but they couldn’t make it. So, here’s the recap.
Lucy Berkin (aka “The Lovin’ Spoonful”) started off class as many of us do: in a bit of a frenetic state. After rushing around dropping the kids off at baseball practice, making a withdrawal at the bank, and then getting some last-minute shopping done, and then seeing an entirely new environment and being surrounded by many new people, her mind was moving a million miles per second.
She was the embodiment of what is referred to as “monkey mind,” where the mind rapidly jumps from one thing to another and can’t focus on a single thing for any substantial period of time. What usually calms her down in a hurry is a banana or an egg (note: she tried vegan keto, but it just wasn’t her jam). But since the Lab is a no-food zone, she had to channel her inner Zen and become grounded.
How many times have we seen people who rush into yoga and rush out as they squeeze yoga into their busy schedules? And so the simple but impractical suggestion commonly offered is to have a less hectic schedule. A better suggestion is to learn how to live in the moment from the moment you arrive at wherever your destination may be. That’s what we witnessed yesterday.
Lucy started class like most yogis: panting heavy, eyes darting around looking at who was in the room, and trying to find a comfortable position. Fortunately, the area she was in was well-padded, almost like an area filled with meditation cushions. And after several minutes of yelping and whining, Lucy settled down for 20 minutes of getting her flow going by drinking from her water bowl. Hey, she’s a water sign astrologically, so that’s the way she flows.
Eventually, she settled into what many yoga instructors consider the most difficult of all poses: Savasana. And she was in it for a good 30 minutes. I’m pretty sure that during that time she was busy contemplating Autobiography of a Yogi, Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness, and The Yoga Sutras. You could tell she was in deep thought by her furrowed brow.
The amazing thing about Lucy Berkin is how serious she takes her Savasana. Once she goes into it, she really grounds down and flattens out with her wise and wizened jowls embracing the ground. This could be due to her being an Earth sign (her birthday is actually on August 23rd but we figured why not celebrate early so she has two birthdays?).
The moment we all came out of Savasana, Lucy was quick to get up on her front paws as she eagerly looked forward to being reborn (or at least receive a few pets and possibly treats from all her new friends).
And coddling and treats she surely received.
In the end, what Lucy Berkin taught us is that when the world gets all crazy and complicated, sometimes all you need is a good bowl of water, a few delicious treats, and some good hugs to keep going.
The Yoga Lab was honored to have such a distinguished guest grace its halls.
The space is even more dog friendly!
Maybe my dog Spirit could make a guest appearance!
Kidding….
You are such a character!