Lessons From the Dog: Put Some Doggie Kisses in Your Headstand

Meet Dodson Bernard Rima-Noga, my little fabulous chihuahua-something mix friend. I found this little guy on Craigslist about five years ago, and he's been tucked in my arms, under my feet or snuggled up at my belly ever since. At this very moment he is curled up next to me on the couch. That is, after about ten minutes of incessant circling he finally plopped down to take his first morning nap. You can place almost any list of positive adjectives in front of his name and still fail to put into words Dodson's incredible awesomeness. I paid more for him than I'd pay for almost anything on Criagslist, but he's still the best deal I'll ever get.

All day yesterday I was craving a few peaceful moments of solitude on the mat. My day was filled with early morning teaching, course prep, hot and sticky subway rides, madhouse grocery shopping in stores the size of most people's closets, apartment hunters popping in and out of our apartment for viewings, and unrelenting back pain. Yoga was my sweet little vacay from a hot and hectic June day.

The first chance I got, I rearranged the furniture in our tiny bedroom/living room/dining room to make space for a yoga mat and delicious wide-armed swan dives. For those of you haven't yet visited or lived in NYC, ridiculously small apartments are just a way of life for the not so filthy rich like myself. Multipurpose rooms have a completely new meaning in this city.

Finally in mountain pose, I smiled and blissfully settled into my practice. Slowly, the downward dogs, warriors and goddess poses were soothing my mind and rolling the kinks out of my body. I flowed through the asanas delighting in their juiciness and enjoying the sound of Om as it floated peacefully through my head.

And the there were the inversions and the sweet soothing came to an abrupt end. My mind and body were taking up arms against each other right there on the mat. My mind was battling for a strong, sturdy inversion practice and my body was going awol. During a long child's pose, a comprised was reached: a no-expectations headstand near the wall (actually the front door because we don't have enough empty wall space to make room for a headstand!).

I slowly and cautiously made it up on my head and enjoyed a second of upside down strength and balance. Literally there was only a second because before I knew it a little ten-pound canine bounced at me and laid a billion little, wet doggie kisses all over my face.

I love my dog. But we have a no licking the people's faces rule for him. Anyone who has witnessed the multitude of things dogs grace with their tongues, including the sidewalk and their own bums, might also just say no to doggie kisses on their face. Dodson was happily and guiltlessly breaking the rule. Dogs can be very obedient when it matters, but they are insightful enough to know when it's worth it to ignore the humans and just go for it.

With my hands tucked behind my head for a stable headstand, I was completely defenseless. There was nothing else to do but to give in and let out the laughs. That's when I learned a yoga lesson from none other than the dog.

Doggie yoga lesson #1: Keep the love and laughter in yoga. Or, in doggie terms, put some doggie kisses in your headstand.

I thought the solution to my mind-body war was to make it up into that headstand. But it wasn't the headstand that lightened my mood and gave me a big fat smile. Dodson's carefree, happy prance up to my face and subsequent smattering of doggie kisses did that for me. With a little bit of love, the dog turned what was becoming an all too serious yoga moment into a joyful and playful one.  I'll say he deserves a good belly rub or two for that one.