Friday, July 27, 2007

Bloomers

One of the great delights of our trip, other than the fantastic yoga education, the great company of my sister and the occasionally great meal of Indian food, has been my email communication with friends from all over. Many of you know Jessica Montgomery (J-Mo). She gave me permission to share some of a note she emailed me on the topic of yoga bloomers.

The back story: Early in my friendship with Jessica we were at an Iyengar workshop together in Dallas. She and Anne and I got in a delightfully sarcastic and funny "getting to know you" kind of discussion that wove its way through topics of clown college, life as a carnie and Jessica's refusal to wear bloomers, the Iyengar Yoga uniform.

So I wrote to her saying she really must plan to come to Pune with us in '09 but in order to really make use of the experience and fit in, she was going to have to deal with her aversion to bloomers. This is the letter I got back. Enjoy!

"Oooh! Bloomers! How awesome that you get to wear them EVERYDAY!!!! I know they offer great freedom of movement. I know they let you really get a good look at the unhidden leg, with all its perfections and imperfections. The real deal, right there.

I also know that they make everyone look like they pooped their pants are walking around in a doo-doo diaper. Form and function do not bind effortlessly and gracefully with those britches. That's the real reason I haven't gone to Pune. It isn't the money or the fear, it is the damn bloomers. I'll set my sights on 09, start working on my bloomer hatred now, and by then I will have the money to go, and the willingness to wear doo-doo pants bloomers. It is going to be great!

Have you seen anybody in those terrible batik bloomers? Folks kept coming back from their India trips with these terrible batik bloomers while I was in SF. They had little cartoon people doing asana, in batik, on bloomers. They were made out of fabric that was the same weight as a cotton bed sheet, so they had a bit of fluffiness to them. A bit of loft. Airy, breezy batik bloomers.

This brings up a question for me: Is making an ugly thing out of something that one typically associates with cuteness (in this case, colourful, breezy cloth) making a bad thing worse, or better? Can the jazzy fabric improve on the britches, or does it really just make everything worse? If a thing is horribly unflattering, should you just run with it and make that unflattering thing out of bright and cheerful fabric? Because really, it can't be much worse, right? Can bloomers be so bad they cycle all the way back around to good?- or even great? -fantastic, polka-dot, breezy, jazzy bloomers of perfection? Is there any sense of irony about the bloomers there at the Institute? Like, "Hey. They suck. I might as well go hog-wild, and just wear them in polka dots. What the hell?"

I am guessing people are very serious about their bloomers. Iyengar folks can nerd-out about just about anything. Have you overheard any discussions on the merits of various widths of elastic, or roominess? OR - since everybody there is wearing them, and maybe there is some seriousness about the bloomers and their many charming and utilitarian features, are there cliques and posses of folks who all wear their bloomers one way, and then cliques and posses who all have other bloomers? -like girls at schools that require uniforms? Can you spot who is friends with whom, by their bloomers? Are there bloomer fashion trends? I expect a full bloomer report on my desk in the morning.

(Note from Christina based on research in the field: Bloomers are also sometimes called Passion Killers, Bubble Shorts, Pune Panties and Shorts of Humility.... )

Pranayama last night was incredible. It was also a bit heartbreaking in a way. Geeta did this stellar explanation and exposition about pranayama and led us by the hand through some practice. She could not have been anymore clear, precise and generous in making it basic, accessible and clear. Then at the end, several people made some mistakes that indicated a severe lapse of attention on their parts. Geeta's response was just so heartbreaking. She seemed so genuinely confused and concerned by how it could happen, by how, after her careful deliberation on the subject people could still go so wrong. She asked, nearly in tears, "What am I to do?"

Anyway- there is a lot to write about on it and a lot of things to consider and I am not sure I can really draw it all out right now or do it justice. The point being that really, she could not do anything better. It was just a function of a lapse of attention. And yet she has the job of being a kind of "bottom line" with the education of Iyengar Yogi's and with the preservation and continuation of their tradition so she cannot really just skip it or let it go. The responsibility she has and feels is hard to fathom.

So, while I didn't make the mistake, the episode really got me thinking about the challenge it is to be a student worthy of these great teachings. How all the us come here month after month, year after year and profess love and gratitude and appreciation for all we "get" from her and that is true. But the biggest thanks would be to pay attention and to be students worthy or the opportunity it is to learn from her. And the enormity of that challenge is what has me a bit stopped in my tracks. And really, part of what you come here for is to have your shortcomings in this endeavor exposed to you so you can work to eradicate them. You come to be called to attention in the one moment you are asleep, not to be congratulated for the ninety-nine moments you were awake that came before. .

And as a side note, I have gotten to be friends this month with two of the girls who made the mistakes that night and it was just that - a mistake. The last thing they meant in anyway was to be insulting or a source of frustration or despair and so on. They are lovely, awesome people who just spaced out in pranayama class. We all do it. I think that the way that Geeta responded was so absent of anger and she was just so clearly vulnerable in her frustration as a teacher who wants us to benefit from the practice who wants us to experience the boons of the practice she has given her life to and for is what made it so potent and thought provoking.

Again, the studentship theme just won't disappear.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I don't have a photo of bloomers, but here is a J-Mo visual aide:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatnot/912622043/

Dale said...

Hey! Cool website :-).

Bloomers - when you make your own bloomers out of Grateful Dead pajama shorts, it transcends beauty & ugliness, good & evil, and becomes iconic. And who could resist wearing an icon?

Besides, the goodness of the bloomer is related to the badness of the bum which it houses :-). For instance, consider the fashion alternatives for the hairy chubby aging male such as myself.

I could wear the long-leg pajamas, but they have the same bagging problem. And they're hot (thermally :-).

Ever see a fat man in spandex? Not pretty :-).

I could wrap a sheet around the middle of my body, like the yogis in those old black & white photos were fond of. But sheets are a pain to wash 8-].

How about running shorts? Unfortunately, things besides spare change tend to fall out of those things, & I get laughed at enough :-).

Or the ultimate fashion accesory for the 50s male - Speedos!!!! Do Not Want!!!

Oh oh oh - throw in the predilection of skinny male yogis for taking off their shirts. I can just see me jiggling onto my mat, wearing nothing but a Speedo. Hah! _That'll_ keep your eyes on your dristi :-). Yes, I will definitely do that in your class when you get back! But I'll wear the bloomer over the speedo, & wait until some time during the class to remove my shirt & bloomers & get down to Speedo goodness. Let it _alllll_ hang out :-).

So, on balance, which is more to be desired, the beauty of the sagging bloomer, or the revelation of what lies beneath? [chuckle]

http://www.myspace.com/downdawg72k

Potato Yoga: Bloomers in Action :-)

Christina Sell said...

Bravo, Dale. Very funny. So many things to be looking forward to now upon my return- seeing all my friends, Central Market, the upcoming workshops I have scheduled, and your speedo/bloomer revelation.