I felt lucky to get one of the last stationary bicycles for spin class on Saturday. Class starts at 7:30 but you have to get there at 7:01 to get a spot. Spin is a class in which you sweat.... a lot. Spin is a class in which you breathe deeply for 45 minutes. Not 2 minutes into the hour long class I noticed a nasty body odor emanating from the "biker" in front of me and I knew....this is only going to get worse as we pump away on our bikes to the sound of blaring rock music under the flashing lights of the disco ball and I am breathing like a marathon runner nearing the end of her race. And, it did. What to do? One of the techniques I have learned from my yoga studies is pratyahara. Basically, you use your mind so that sensations (sound waves, smells) don't turn into perceptions. The annoying clanging in the background as you try to quietly read your book fades into the background as you purposely don't hear it. As I knew would happen, the more sweaty our stationary pack of bikers got, the more the smell intensified (geez, this person needs a bath I think to myself). Then I think...pratyahara! So, there I was for rest of the class, being as mindful as I possibly could in such a way to block the ripe and hideous body odor. Intentionally not thinking about it. Strange way to "think", but it worked and I no longer smelled the offensive odor! Spose this is an odd blog entry but I am honestly amazed at that ways in which my yoga studies make my daily life easier :) I have written about pratyahara (intense philosophical pieces for my yoga mentor) but who knew how useful it'd be in a spin class on an early Saturday morning. Had I not thought...pratyahara!.... I would have most definitely hopped off my bike as the first fly wheels whirled and ran for fresh air :)
p.s. this is a picture of a fractal! Cool, huh?
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