I know what most of you are thinking: Hot Yoga is complete Looney Tunes and you do not understand our obsession with it. But what you may not know is the former leading lover of Looney Tunes has taken up residence under the studio. (we literally have a skunk living under the yoga studio!). Yes, the return of none other than sniffy Le Pew, the larger than life super suave star skunk, "zee king femme fatales"is sharing his amorous scent through the floor boards making Corpse Pose now more challenging than Standing Head to Knee!
C’est Vrai, mes amis, le mating season of les moufettes is in full bloom and our ardent French lover is in passionate Pepe pursuit. In fact just to be clear, this is not the first time he has strolled by letting his not so odor-able scent linger. No he was quite taken by the hot room last month when he caught the unmistakable “wet towel in a gym bag scent” — the smell that makes hot yogis swoon and apparently Pepe too. “Ah, my darling, it is love at first sight, is it not? Or should I spray by again?” Mais Non Pepe, please let out hearts feel "Le mew, le purr, le trill" of a more distant odorless love!
Oh, zee things we do for health! "Sometimes I ask myself, 'Eez eet really worth eet?' And I answer myself, 'YES!'" Mais oui, how fabulous it is to have the 26 + 2 as a path back to health after so many years away from the hot room. As one sweat-mate shared: “it feels like a path home to myself”. And why oh why on this already challenging path do we need the not so charming fumes of “zee love doctor”. The routine is hard enough without the complex symphony for the olfactory senses!
Perhaps as we practice now in the fiery pits with Pepe, we need his reminder to spread love, not war or perhaps for us to remember to laugh at ourselves and not get discouraged. Use our mat time to love back to health the broken parts of ourselves with the renewed ardent determination of the insatiable skunk. Here his bon mots and allow the Franglais to chuckle us into loving those awful smelly parts of ourselves we have abandoned, but Pepe can always find!
So the next time you're struggling to hold Awkward Pose think of the humid hot yoga smells mixed with Pepe's pungent aroma and don’t forget to laugh. Laughter is the shortest distance between two people, and it's also the best way to heal our broken parts, stretch ourselves open and let in the love.
As Pepe would say: Eet eez not madness, mes amis. Eet eez a passion, a love affair with ze body, ze mind, and ze soul. As we flow through our practice, hear him cheering us on with: "Ma cherie, you are ze most smellingly beautiful flower in ze hot room!" And with a smile on our faces, we can conquer even the most challenging poses. So let us embrace the heat, the sweat, and let our souls giggle again. As Pepe would say, "Come, my darling. Let us celebrate ze beauty of life, ze joy of movement, and ze power of love. And remember if we fall out of Tree Pose, we can always enjoy a good laugh with ze skunk!
A Bientôt Mes Amis!
Les Celines
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