Hi Kurlies!

Happy early Juneteenth and Happy Pride!

I love doing yoga on my apartment building’s roof! The fresh air, loud AF birds, and warm sun elevates the experience in a way that makes it hard to do yoga anywhere else. The only downside are the bugs; but on one special morning, a spider taught me a valuable lesson.

You are deeply loved. 

Teacher Spider & Teacher Snake

Teacher Spider

So I was enjoying a modified pigeon pose when a very grumpy and fairly large spider decided to run up on me. Now, homie stopped when he realized I wasn’t a piece of furniture, but then we had a standoff for about three minutes. I did everything I could to make him understand that neither crawling on me nor my mat was in his best interest. I slapped the ground a few times and shook the top of my mat, but he just stood there looking at me as if I was crazy. Finally, he realized it wasn’t worth the beef and scurried back down under the cement. I only had a few minutes left of my class, so I made sure to wiggle my feet so he wouldn’t get any crazy ideas.

And then in shavasana (aka corpse pose, aka my favorite pose lol), I realized the wisdom of this spider. Little homie recognized and abided by the red flags. Did he want to cross my yoga mat? Yes! Absolutely. He was gunning for it. But instead of putting himself in danger, he paused, observed the flags, and course corrected.

Teacher Snake

In meditation one morning, I had a vision. In my vision, a rattle snake rose up in front of me, poised to strike, shaking his tail. Humorously, I took all of these signs for everything BUT the warnings they were. I said, Wow! Look how he focuses on me; he must really like me! Do you hear that hiss? We’re having a pleasant conversation! Oh look! He’s brought along a maraca! What a musical little thing! I didn’t need to finish the vision to realize how ridiculous all of this looked and sounded. Your girl was over here playing with a snake, turning red flags into roses.

Here’s the thing, I refuse to let a spider outthink me.

Will you let a spider outthink you?

Kurlies - it is my prayer that we consistently NOPE our way out of experiences that aren’t rooted in respect. May we never let our desires blind us from the musical charm of snakes.

I love you, Kurlies! Praying that the best outcome happens for you always.
Your Sister in Beauty,

✨ Lana ✨