One time — make that every time — in yoga class, Rebecca asked us to empty our minds of thought. Goes without saying (but there I said it anyway) that this served as an open invitation to all thoughts, no matter how random.
I tried to ask my thoughts to take a seat, wait a spell, I’d be back in a little while. This was a way of honoring them even while I honored my effort to put them off. And then I started naming them. One was a star for another sky. Another, a dawn for another day. And a song for another bird, a leaf for another tree, a wind for another storm.
Probably makes no sense to anyone but me. But if does serve as a shortcut — one of those keyboard “command shift” tricks — to remind me of a way to approach the task: On my mat I say “a star for another sky” and my mind instantly clears*.
*Not really**
**Not at all.
DIANE di COSTANZO 