BRUISED



Yesterday I did Dharma's master sequence, which includes a lot of forearm balances.

I haven't fallen over the pose in eons, so I practiced near the front of the mat.


Suddenly, I slammed legs-first into the bookcase and harmonium. Candle wax flew everywhere.

Both shins were a bloody, stinging mess.

The harmonium looks kind of broken.

And the ego was crushed.



* * *

SERPENT AND THE ROPE

I used the bathroom just before the 11am led primary class. As I was washing my hands, my bangs, which are overdue for a trim (once I find a new hairdresser who listens to me and doesn't leave me sitting there for 20 minutes after our appointment start-time while he goes to the bank), stuck in my right eye. I brushed them away... and suddenly my contact lens was folded in two and stuck in some far-away crevice of the eyeball. I could not get it out. And class was about to start.

So I did what any trouper would do and taught the class, after telling them briefly what had happened. I only forgot one pose - Navasana. (Funny, no one reminded me or complained. Perhaps that's why it won "least favorite pose" at YogaNow's Christmas party).

Afterwords I went into the club's best-lit, least-used bathroom and dug and dug. But still I could not get out the contact. The eye was a sore red mess, which put me into quite a sad state. I gave up, and decided not to run the day's many errands. Instead, I drove straight home - where I still couldn't get it out, even after reading and trying many helpful online tips.

I started calling around to eye doctors. The one nearest my house wanted $70 to come in, and said it would probably cost more "depending on the problem." I said I didn't have that kind of money.

Then I called Pearle Vision.

They said the most it would cost would be $20.

I went in.

The nice lady doctor did a search.

She was quite thorough.

She found nothing.

She charged nothing.

And the ego was crushed again.