Whack-a-Doodle-Doo

Sometimes life smacks you upside the head.

Literally.

I awoke this morning and pulled back the shade, breathing in the scent of another sweet Hawaiian day. I am trying to incorporate more yoga and meditation rituals into my daily life, so I ignored my laptop and phone and turned on a yoga DVD. The instructor’s soothing voice immediately calmed me and I focused on my breath, pushing all thoughts and worries out of my mind. I concentrated on mirroring her poses, stretching and lengthening, being present and aware.

The session ended and I laid in savasana pose enjoying the breeze drifting through the house, which cooled my warmed up body.  I relaxed every part of my being, from the top of my head down to my baby toes, breathing deeply.

Slowly, I opened my eyes, feeling a smile on my face. I imagined a world where everyone started their day like this. What a loving, beautiful place it would be.

Still feeling slightly tight in the hamstrings, I reached for my resistance band to stretch them out a little more. I extended my legs straight up and put the band around my feet, pulling it taut. My usual stretching band broke recently so I was using another one. The cylindrical shape of this one made it a little more difficult so I pulled it a little tighter and…

WHACK! I was stunned, unsure of what just happened until a millisecond later when a surge of stinging pain rushed to my face. My hands flew up and my I felt for my teeth to make sure they were all still there. When my brain caught up, I realized the tubular band rolled right off my feet and smacked me clear across the face. Hard. My gums and top lip felt hot and numb and my right cheek throbbed with pain. I laid there for a minute collecting myself, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

So much for Zen.

Slowly, I peeled myself off the floor and made my way over to the mirror to assess the damage.

My upper lip was swollen to three times its normal size – practically touching my nose – and a long, red welt was forming from my left cheek bone across my mouth, down to my lower right jaw line. I tried to smile and I looked like I had just returned from a trip to the dentist, frozen and wonky. The sight before me was such a hot mess that the only thing I could do was laugh.

I laughed all the way to the freezer and then all the way to the couch where I sat with a bag of frozen peas on my face.

Later, I reenacted the story for my friend Val and we laughed hysterically, all over again.

Moral of the story: If you’re not going to start your day off with some yoga, you might as well begin it with the next best thing – laughter.

And if you’re not laughing enough in life, the universe might just reach out and smack you as a reminder to lighten up a little.

Namaste.