Clamor in the Bathroom

Greetings everyone,
When I was a young kid and aspiring dancer, I used to put on my tap shoes and lock myself in our front bathroom. It was small, had a mirror and the ratta-tat-tap of my shoes had a resonance of echoing delight to my young ears. To my mother, it was simply annoying. She'd pound on the door and yell over the din, "Jayneellen...get out of the bathroom!". It was unabashed joy for me to immerse myself in the sound I was making.

A couple of weeks back, as I was beginning to teach a yoga class where the childcare bathroom is on the other side of the wall to the yoga studio, a young kid was in the bathroom and began to sing his lungs out. I couldn't recognize the song, but it was as if he were in front of a screaming audience of rabid fans...he wasn't holding back, just belting it out. We were all laying on our backs in the yoga class and I began to laugh at the vision of this kid. His complete commitment to hearing the sounds he was making was completely uninhibited. That is, until I tapped on the door and he stopped.

Then just today, I was in a Starbucks enjoying a chai with my husband, and this young girl probably no older than 3 or 4 just burst out into song...loud enough to be heard by us at the next table...another moment of uninhibited joy...being in the sound of her own voice.

So, it brought me to my thought for this week. When was the last time you were acting in a joyful, unbound and uninhibited way? We get so caught up in our "public image and persona" that we have forgotten the childhood experience of being completely as ease with our own expression...right or wrong, unedited and without judgment.

Maybe the next time your favorite song comes on the radio...belt it out! If you feel like breaking into a skip down the street or your favorite dance move...LET IT OUT! Or perhaps best of all...lock yourself in a tiled bathroom and be Gregory Hines for a little while. Simply writing this brings a smile to my face...how about yours?

And don't forget to check out the latest Australia retreat information at http://www.desertyogatherapy.com/retreats.htm. I am now taking deposits and welcome any questions.