Bacon and Yoga go together like...

Last week I was teaching an early morning yoga class for a convention at the Colorado Convention Center. When I arrived, the room we were supposed to be using was already set up for the day's events, so we were moved to the big lobby between the ballrooms. It was not ideal, as the staff was hurriedly setting up for the day all around us, but it was kind of funny to catch snippets of very private conversations being shouted as people went about their work, oblivious to the group of meditative yogis, or to shout "let your mind focus on your breath" over what sounded like someone emptying a huge box of silverware all over the floor. 

Then they started to set up the breakfast buffet about 4 feet from us. First came the fruit and bagels, the pastries and cereal. Then coffee - I saw a few students look up longingly as the aroma made it's way to us. Then they brought out trays and trays of bacon. Now, I've never liked bacon very much, so when I smelled it, I though, "Ew, how are they supposed to practice now? It smells so gross..."

Then I noticed the looks on their faces. They were tortured by the bacon in a very different way than I was. I saw people swallowing hard, inhaling as though if they sniffed hard enough, they might get some bacon into their mouths somehow. 

We made it to the end of the class, and several of the students told me they knew it was a good class because they didn't abandon their mats to get a plateful of bacon. Compliments come in a many forms, especially to vegan chef yoga teachers. 

As you go through your next practice, notice if there's somewhere else you'd really rather be. If there is, maybe allow yourself to go with it, to leave your mat. But if there isn't, find the joy in being exactly where you want to be.