Ramble Om

Dear Ms. Lynch,                 I realize Ms. Lynch is no longer your name, but I don’t remember your new one. My mother did tell me once after running into you at the SFUSD office when I was already an adult.  It took some time for the two of you to realize how you knew each other since she was no longer Mrs. Hanni and you were no longer Ms. Lynch, but, eventually, one or both of you recalled. I suppose I could address you by your first name since I am an adult now, but, well, that’s not how I think of you. Besides, I believe that is the answer to one of the security questions for some financial institution so I shan’t repeat it here.                 Anyway, as you may have guessed, none of that is why I am writing to you. If you remember me at all, you already know that I adored you as a child. You were the first teacher I...

One morning, in my favorite vinyasa flow class, this guy set his yoga mat down next to mine. It was a crowded class, and I didn’t notice him at first, but as the class wore on, it was impossible not to. He was one of those…hmmm… how do I say this… rajasic types. For those that don’t know, there are three gunas: rajas, tamas, and sattva. Rajas is energy, but creates disharmony. Tamas is substance and creates inertia. Sattva is wisdom and consciousness, creating balance. This guy was pure rajas. For every pose, he took it to the extreme, taking the pose to the maximum edge, and never even really rebalancing in a more passive pose. Instead of breathing for a moment in a forward fold, for instance, he would try to kick up into handstand. There are plenty of people who go to a fuller expression of a pose but can do so with consciousness and intention.  However, he was huffing and puffing and trying to blow my house down with his frenetic energy. For me, yoga is my me-time. ...

For your birthday, I thought I’d make you a list of all the ways I contributed to our failed relationship, for time and distance have revealed to me how I, too, was culpable. In no particular order: 1) Every time I was attracted to another person, be it in a dream or during waking hours, I confessed this to you. I told myself I was doing it for you. I wanted to be completely honest. But really I was selfishly trying to relieve my own guilt. 2) Because I loathe them, I refused to ever let you listen to the Grateful Dead, nor were you allowed to play them on your guitar. Yes, the sound of their so-called music incites in me a violent urge to scream whilst tearing apart innocent teddy bears, but they were your favorite band. 3) On a similar note, I shouldn’t have made fun of you for grieving when Jerry Garcia died and telling you jokes such as Ben & Jerry’s new ice cream flavor being Bury Garcia . 4) When you finally went out and got a new girlfriend—a girlfriend who happened t...