What Will We Do When It's Over? (VIDEO)

A finance guy, an architect, a comedian, a poet, and a handful of others were sitting around the yoga studio, talking about the election. That sounds like the beginning of a dirty joke, but it was actually the start of a rather somber group chat with a few awkward silences sprinkled throughout. Topics shifted from energetic Palin slams, to the last eight years and Bush theories, to Septeber 11th. A guy spoke up that he lost several good friends working in those buildings. Another in the room had been a rescue worker. Everyone was quiet for a while until the architect broke it up with, "Isn't this yoga, aren't we supposed to be talking about our feelings?"

We've all felt the hits from the economy, the doom of global warming, and now we're bracing ourselves for the election. This group, all from completely different backgrounds, ages, and life experience comes to the studio for the physical and mental release. This isn't your stereotypical aspiring-something-to-make-me-famous yoga crowd prancing around in the latest outfit, networking their way to wherever-I-can-get-land. We have Coast Guard members, programmers, city workers, traders, environmentalists . . . all lined up downward dogging. Some of the people who come are laid off from their jobs. Our regular ex-finance guy told us that half his old trading floor is empty now. He also advised us to keep cash around and buy a gun. I had a strange feeling he was only half-joking. The architect let us in on behind-the-scenes stories about greed and corruption of city workers that I've only heard about on the History Channel. Our comedian friend chimed in about time he spent in the military, and reasons why he was die-hard republican until the last few years.

Seeing this diverse group practice yoga together reminds us there are more similarities than differences among us. For an hour and a half everyone in that room is doing pretty much the exact same thing, with a few crashes and wobbles here and there. Everyone is breathing together, and on some level we all are grateful to be there together. Not in a weird, "I want to talk about my feelings" yoga way, of course. More in a "thanks man, I hear you" way. These are regular people. They wouldn't be picked out of a crowd as "yoga people."

Most of the people coming to yoga regularly now say they need it to decompress from their daily lives and stay positive and healthy. They keep coming back. And they're not the traditional new age yoga clothes spiritual-seeker crowd. I think this shift is happening all over. All kinds of people are practicing yoga now. They're coming not just to stay healthy and strong, but also to find a sense of community, some peace of mind, and to have a place they can call their own that's free from the stress going on outside. First-timers ask if they can leave their mat. Maybe because they know they'll be back and want to claim a little bit of calm for themselves.

Even though the conversation wasn't as fluid and witty as it could have been, no one in that room wanted to leave after class was over. I'm sure part of that is yoga makes you feel really great, especially after an hour and a half class. But that's not the usual routine. I've been to a lot of places where students bolt out the door the minute class is finished (or even jump up a few minutes early to get a good headstart). So maybe people are sticking around now for the juice and cookies, but the other part is they want to stay and talk. People are craving connection now and want to hear what each other are going through. It just feels good to come together, sweat it out on the mat, and talk for a bit before we all head home and have to turn on the news.

"What are we going to do when it's over?" someone asked the group, referring to after the election. "We'll probably go back to watching videos of cute cats on YouTube." I know it won't solve the financial, environmental, or health care crisis, or bring world peace, but who doesn't like a good cat video?

And with that I offer you a little bit of decompression, Cat Steals Peanuts. It's twenty eight seconds of mindless home video footage that is sure to make you smile. Cat videos on YouTube are the new meditation.

Comments

[dadw5boys]

WAVE BYE BYE !!!!!!!

BYE BYE TO THE REPUBLICAN MAFIA !!!!

[CanuckforObama]

Wow. I have a lump in my throat. We are NOT, and never have been drinking Kool-Aid. We friends of Barack Obama from around the world are simply looking for a new political discourse based on tolerance, friendship, reconciliation, optimism, justice and peace. We hope and pray that Mr. Obama will soon be president.

[MissElaineous]

Get back to work on the environment, people. Its been economy this and oil that. Let's not forget little things like, oh, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the planet we share with the creatures.

[haleypie]

I'm thinking there will be a lot of babies born 40 weeks from tomorrow. I know how I plan on celebrating the first day of the rest of our lives!

[dbranford]

"networking their way to wherever-I-can-get-land" OMG this is so true in LA! haha

Anyway, the last place I thought this Human Experience article would end up at was a cat. Great stuff, just as random as real life! For me calming my nerves means Lemon Juice in room temp water. It works wonders.

I know one thing though, I live between the east and the states, and just as we've had this financial situation brewing for the last 8+ years, there's something much bigger brewing over in India and China that we are going to face in the next 10 years, and have already started to see in the last 5. Our Education system is set up for disaster! And its not the only thing outperforming us, so is shear numbers of workers! How can the states compete for growth when in China/India and Arabia you can hire a personal driver for the day for about the same as a few NY cab rides? Or pay skilled construction workers 200 dollars a month to build the worlds tallest building!

Im rambling, but point is thats the issue to focus on from here. Thats "whats next". How do we match the education and rapid growth of Asia while only having access to 1/8 of the workforce and students sheltered from the urgency of having a Global thought process?

Ive outsourced myself just in case. Unpatriotic? No, I'm a citizen of the world.

[burpgun]

Okay, in order-Call all friends and family members and gloat about the fact that you were right and/or disconnect the phone and computer internet connection if you were wrong! Two-Utter some appropriate Cuss words-either in pure glee and /or pure torment! Three-Be Happy in the knowledge that you are rushing in a new era and/or that misery loves company-you aren't alone! Four-Order out and enjoy! and/or entice the dog with a bone and then place it out of reach-no sense in being miserable alone! Five-Dream about what could have been but realize it probably wouldn't have happened anyway! Another election over but America moves on! Take care all-Be sure to Vote!

[Nancyok]

Soooo much left to do in the last 24 hours...call everyone I know in MO, OH, PA, FL, VA, etc. and work until the last voter is thru the line. But then....
Well this is a community of thinkers and feelers here to share this with. I'll have my usual election night hour chat with mom (depressed in her Blue county in the very red state of KY) while nervously watching the results roll in out here on the east coast. Hopefully, our mood and tears will be much different this time.
But I'll take a week or two to get caught up on all the things I've been neglecting...like sleep, focussing on work, even sex (I heard someone call it "Electile Disfunction'...then on Jan. 20 or maybe before, I'll wake up and say "Okay, President Obama, what do you want me to do today to make things better. " He'll need us back on alert and ready to use our passion and wit and intelligence in new ways. This is just the beginning of winning back our country.

[beantowner]

I have no idea how I'll decompress after this election. I have nobody locally with whom to (hopefully) celebrate Obama's win. That's been the case both times that the Red Sox have won the World Series in recent years and when the Patriots have won the Superbowl... I guess I'll have to rely on celebrating via phone, once again.

I'll likely sit in my living room and cry my eyes out Tuesday night - with happiness and overwhelming joy over an Obama win or intense sadness and disbelief if the unmentionable happens.

After that, who knows? So much of my time in recent months has been spent in front of my computer, reading about and researching the mud that's been slung in this campaign, that I have no idea what I'll do when all is said and done. Funny cat videos on YouTube will be a nice diversion. I need a hobby. ;-)

[Samirah1368]

What will I do? I won't have to do anything but relax. I might just lay in my bed and watch old episodes of Fred Flintstone and actually freaking LAUGH again. Yoga? Hell no. I'm eating cheesecake that day and drinking wine! Oh and I'm buying every newspaper in existence because I'm hoping to GOD it will be a historical day not a hysterical day

[noel08]

I'm gradually cutting down my net surfing of political news and blogs, putting the TV on 'mute' more, going to bed earlier and, fully still, asking the question you raise. "Hi". "My handle is noel08 and I'm an addict." I'm kinda new to the Huff Post, but have used it continously as one of my sources for news during this election season. I'm withdrawing gradually, so the drop in my participation won't be so precipitous. But I'll be checking in to see what else motivates HP users. I guess I should stop to eat now.

[LordMoon]

Hugging, and touching each other is also a great way to decompress...

I usually have some fruit, or a nice vegetarian meal afterwards...milk yes... hopefully the cookies are healthy without sugar or artifical sweeteners...

[Kevbo68]

Whoa. Nobody mentioned there were juice and cookies after yoga! This changes everything!

There will be decompression for sure. Mine will now involve juice and cookies. And Tara Stiles videos.