It’s late. I have lots of family coming into town tomorrow. I’m distracted by the news we’ve just received of my mom’s cancer. It’s spread into her bones. We don’t know how long she has…we just don’t.
And it’s been one of those days, ya know, when you work your arse off and more keeps coming your way. We’ve all had ’em. they can be frustrating, and they can be filled with unexpected beauty, as well.
I ran into a former student at the Trader Joe’s in Woodland Hills and met her four year old boy. What a cutie-pie! We reminisced. She told me she enjoyed my emails. We spoke a bit about where I was teaching these days.
A heartfelt request — I could use everyone’s help: I want to start teaching a prenatal/postnatal class + a non-preggers class. I’d love any intro’s to studio owners in the West Valley (Woodland Hills, West Hills, Calabasas…) or upper SaMo/Palisades, but only to studios that YOU think are a good fit for my energy. Most of you know me from being your yoga teacher. All my contacts are Venice/Mar Vista/WestLA and Eastside studios. And it’s time. it’s time to start sharing in a public space again. (thanks!)
So…my email I had prepped is about the time when I saved a woman’s life. Originally, I was going to connect it to the importance of ritual, but that isn’t going to happen. My heart’s been heavy these past two days. When I feel frustrated like this and kinda stuck, I do a heart-expansive meditation. This technique always bring me back to what truly is, and not what is just in front of me. It’s my practice when I need to expand beyond sorrow, frustration, anger and fear. I want to share what helps me — a 6 min meditation, one for heart-heavy times. Quick Meditation for Tough Times.
For those of you who want more meditations, just ask! I’m currently beta-testing six!!! Ask and ye shall receive… all I want is your feedback.
Sherri K described her experience with the Mini Full Body Relaxing Meditation:“Thanks Aria!! Tried the first one tonight. So great! The baby woke up exactly when I finished and was totally relaxed LOL”
I can hear some of you…. just tell us the story.
OK….
Gotcha… Here ya go. Enjoy!
I saved a woman’s life this past NYE….or so she believes.
We were in Colorado. My friends own property near Lemon Lake, about 10 miles outside of Durango — – a cabin and a converted barn. These are long-time friends of 20 years, awesome, incredible, heart-felt, honest to goodness, salt-of-the-earth kinda people. They had invited a huge group of us to celebrate and ring in the New Year. We were families, couples and singles: about 30 adults and 10 kids. We’d spent the week tubing, skiing, hiking, exploring, having fun, and now it was the big night. After dinner, the DJ’s started spinning. Kiddos and adults danced until it was time for the kiddos to retreat to the cabin (we’d hired a sitter.) The adults hung out in the barn, danced, talked and had fun. Some of these amazing folks had traveled all the way from Oklahoma! Some I hadn’t seen in over 10 years. By 4:15am, I was exhausted and needed to crash. I was staying with a friend, way across town, and instead of driving back through town and all the way over to my temporary home, friends had invited us to crash at their rented cabin down the road.
10 minutes later, we pulled up into the garage The access code worked. We walked inside and set up a sleeping couch/futon. I turn around to go upstairs and make a cuppa tea, when I see a nude woman, clutching a button down shirt that’s waaayyyy to small for her around her shoulders, screaming,
“MELISSA! MELISSA?”
“Hi… I’m Aria.”
I hear the shower, going.
“MELISSA, where are you?”
I walk closer and ascertain her energy…she doesn’t feel dangerous. Scared out of her wits, but not dangerous. I talk to her for a few minutes only to realize that she doesn’t know anyone in my group of friends, nor the two families renting that cabin, nor the owner of the cabin. Who is she? She’s nude, trembling, and screaming for Melissa. How did she get in there? What’s her story?
“I think you just saved my life,” she says “I thought I was going to die. I can’t feel my foot. I have to go back in the shower.”
Huh?
The shower kept going for another hour, during which I kept checking on her, every 5-10 minutes. I talked to her calmly. I brought her some hot tea and some water. I didn’t know if she was on anything and was concerned that she might faint in that hot, hot shower. She started to trust me and told me bits and pieces:
She’d been chased by a demon. She’d been running all night. Strange things had followed her. She didn’t think she would live.
What happened to her clothes? Where were her friends?
Gone.
One foot was numb and black and she kept massaging it. I asked if I could call any family members or friends.
Nobody, she begged me. I wondered if one of her friends had hurt her (?)
I told her we should call the police and get an ambulance.
Please, she begged. Please, just let me shower. Please.
She sounded like she had been raped and I wanted to honor her wishes — give the woman space to shower and rinse off the experience before having to explain it all to the cops.
I told her I could wait until she got out of the shower. But what about her foot?
Please, she begged me. Please let me shower. The hot water is helping my foot.
OK.
What emerged that evening was incredible. Instead of coming back to a cabin to sleep and rest for a few hours before turning back around to pick up Kaia, who was asleep with the other kids in the cabin, I ended up Doula’ing this stranger. I massaged her legs and her foot. I did energy work on her foot. I gave her tea. Water. Food. I called 911 and stayed on the phone with them while the paramedics came (this took over 25 minutes.) I gave her a bunch of my warm clothes, including a beanie I had just bought that matched my daughter’s. It was a special beanie, but she needed it more than I did.
After the paramedics took her away, they told us that she has mental issues and has had breakdowns in the past.
They were shocked that she survived the frost and the cold. This young woman had climbed UP AND DOWN AN ENTIRE MOUNTAIN, in the dark, naked, with no shoes. Just a sock wrapped around one foot.
She called me her guardian angel. We later connected over Facebook and she told me about her history of mental illness.
I found out later, through my friend, that she still calls me her guardian angel.
I’m not sure why. All I did was help another person. I doula’d her. I talked to her. I massaged her. I took care of her.
Isn’t that something we would all do for another human being?
I don’t think I deserve that term – “saved her life.”