Archive for December, 2007

“Is the glass half empty, half full, or twice as large as it needs to be?”  ~Author Unknown

Every now and then, we have those experiences that trigger a moment of amazing clarity. I call such a moment an “eclipse point” whereby all thought and emotion unites allowing a fleeting and unique look at life. An eclipse point might happen once or twice a year. Super rare.

The other day I saw a movie, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, that put everything into perspective. It’s the very true story of Jean-Dominque Bauby who was the former editor of Elle Magazine in France. In 1995, he had a stroke that caused “locked-in syndrome” whereupon Bauby was paralyzed head to toe except for his left eye which he could still move and blink. He retained all cognitive ability (meaning he had his wits) but was prisoner to the 1,000 pound iron suit that his body had become. Can you imagine?!

Bauby learned to communicate by working with a therapist who would read him the alphabet from A to Z. Upon hearing the letter he required to spell out a word, Bauby would blink his left eye. He went so far as to write a book using this painfully slow form of transcription. The movie is based upon this book with the very same title, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly,which details Bauby’s use of the imagination to set him free.

He referred to the bodily prison as “the diving bell” and the liberating imagination as “the butterfly.” Using just his left eye, he wrote the most gorgeous prose albeit in painstakingly slow fashion. It would often take 5 hours for him to “blink out” one paragraph. Following is a sample sentence from the book about how he’d spend his days locked in, “My diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly. There is so much to do. You can wander off in space or in time, set out for Tierra del Fuego or for King Midas’s court.You can visit the woman you love, slide down beside her and stroke her still-sleeping face. You can build castles in Spain, steal the Golden Fleece, discover Atlantis, realize your childhood dreams and adult ambitions.”

Bauby’s condition is rare yet so was the strength and tone of his imaginative fervor. In an otherwise bleak scenario, his dreamy mind granted him a last pearl of life.

I sat there with my brother watching this movie. We both have a little O.C.D. and a lot of A.D.D., and we were seriously considering an early sprint for the exit. The movie is not easy to watch. But there was something important to gain from The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Bauby’s story made me forget my everyday worries and struggles;  and it made me reevaluate the New Year’s resolutions. Yes I do have resolutions to be a better son; to not write dirty Schticks with naked pictures; and to be more altruistic. But this movie reminded me to put life into perspective and find appreciation for the most basic freedoms: to move; to breathe; to dream. Without those, nothing else matters.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year filled with lots of pleaures; especially the simple ones.

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The Peak Experience is like The Perfect Storm. The conditions have to be just right in order to form one of life’s Top 10 Moments. Along with Pollyanna Forster of Eat, Drink, Dish, I have devised a formula to concoct the peak experience, the sublime moment, the sweetest memory. It’s like an amazing recipe that will help you lead a more fulfililng life everyday.

Start the year off in style and join us for the Yoga + Skiing + Cooking Retreat in Vail taking place over the long holiday weekend, January 10-13, 2008.

Here are the details

“All The Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Layin’ In The Sun,
Talkin’ ‘Bout The Things
They Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda Done…
But All Those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
All Ran Away And Hid
From One Little Did.”   Shel Silverstein

There was a very nice boy named John Blaustein with whom I grew up. We did all the things 6 year olds do together like swim, trampoline, t-ball. A few years went by until I saw John again at sleepaway camp. I never liked sleepaway camp which was dirty and dusty. The camp counselors had us do things like archery and riflery followed by pottery as if they were trying to teach us the ways of any proper redneckishly effeminate young man.  Anyway, John had become very nerdy in the years since I’d last seen him. Showing up at sleepaway camp, John was oafish and the kids did not take a liking to him. Sadly to say, I joined the herd and ignored John. I will never, ever forget when he came up to me and said, “Why don’t you like me anymore?” It was a sad moment.

Don’t be mad at me for being mean. The universe struck me down with an awful curse of my own awkward nerdiness for the ensuing few years. But I’d like to apologize to John Blaustein who I’m sure today is very successful and doing well. So this is a public apology to anyone to whom I’ve ever been mean.  Mean people suck and there’s no place in the world for it.

I encourage everyone to reach out today to someone you were mean to in your past. Apologize to the kid whose face you drew private parts on with a magic marker when he passed out drunk. Reach out to the poor soul you made cry when he threw a gutter ball at that bowling birthday party. Say something heartfelt to the kid who asked you how to wash crazy glue from their hands and you said “Lick ‘em”. A warm, handwritten note will surely make up for the fart machine you brought to your friend’s Bat Mitzvah.   And it’s never too late to send an email to someone whose drink you laced with Ex-Lax before their high school graduation.

There’s no place in this world for mean people. Life is too short so think back to your less-than-nice moments and make amends. As somebody once said, “It’s nice to be important. But it’s more important to be nice.”

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As a yoga teacher, I meet all sorts of wonderful students most of whom are kind and wonderful people. Often after class, a few students will come up front to speak with me. Usually, I hear warm and fuzzies but not always. These are some of the odder questions students have asked me after class:

1. Are you serious?

2. Are those shorts or underwear?

3. Was that Lionel Richie you were playing?

4. Are you single? Here’s my brothers number.

5. You mentioned a retreat you were teaching in Vail in January? I heard you the first 8 times.

6. Class was great. Sorry my friend left early. He hated it.

7. By the way, that’s not my name.

8.  My-oh-my how we like to hear ourselves talk now don’t we?!

9. I loved everything about class except the yoga, the music, and the philosophy stuff.

10.  I don’t get it.

As 2007 comes to an end, did you have enought moments that you will remember forever?

Let’s begin 2008 in style and start off with a weekend full of amazing moments you’ll savor for a lifetime.

First Tracks skiing/snowboarding is a very rare and special treat. Very few people will have the opportunity to flow on fresh snow as if surfing a crystal white wave down a gorgeous mountain. We will have VIP access to the first tracks of the day as this will be one of our exciting activies on my upcoming yoga retreat to Vail, Colorado this January 10-13. Along with awardwinning restauranteur Pollyanna Forster, this retreat will focus on life’s “peak experience” whether it’s one of Pollyanna’s amazing meals at her restaurant Dish, or a dreamy Savasana with a snowy blizzard in the background, or gliding down fresh powder. The weekend will be full of PERFECTION.

Here are the details

Debuting in the winter wonderland that wiil be Cleveland, Ohio this January 4-6, Yoga + Chocolate and Yoga + Wine celebrate a new era with different flavors, unique varietals,  and a new message. If you have experienced one of my Yoga + Chocolate or Yoga + Wine workshops around the country, please join me again in 2008 for a refreshed vibe that gives you new and exciting routes by which to discover The Moment.

Also, I will be debuting some new workshop experiences:

Inner Geography

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” Lillian Smith

This workshop will be a 2 hour flowing yoga tour along the inner journey taking you from the dark slums of the mind to the luxurious tropical views of your greatest dreams to the ego-driven driven luxuries of your inner casinos to the wide open terrain in the depths of your soul. This workshop will remind you that you always have the freedom to travel on the inner journey.

Livin’ Large in Mas Jegas

Imagine a small country (which i call Mas Jegas) where people earn money based on spiritual wealth rather than financial wealth. In order to be able to “afford ” to live in such a place, one would need to be rich in the ways of the soul. This 2 hour flowing yoga class will focus on how certain kind acts and generous deeds can win you a trip to this exotic land.

“Let your soul be your bookie.” -Anonymous

I walked past his infuriated wife dragging their 6 year old son out the door. Nervous and concerned, I entered my friend’s home (let’s call him Bill) to find a shattered beer bottle, a piece of pizza dripping down the TV screen, a screaming toddler with a “poopy diaper,” and my friend with his face buried in his hands. He was watching football so I instantly assumed his favorite team had lost and he’d freaked out. Being a sports fan, I could relate, but when looking at the screen to see that he was watching University of Alabama Birmingham vs. University of Houston, I was confused. He had no affiliation whatsoever with these schools so why did he care? Evidently, he bet the over/under for the 4th quarter and lost $15,000.

To see such passion over something to which he had so little connection; this is what I talk about in my yoga classes.  Passion for the sake of passion. Loving for the sake of loving.  Screaming for the sake of screaming.  That my friend could find so much interest in such a random game is what I mean by livin’ the moment! (which is also the name of my book to be published soon by Broadway Books/Random House).

At this moment, I recognized it was time to move past my fears and start gambling. So I pooled together the money I was saving for my girlfriend’s wedding ring; and the money I was saving for my future children’s college education; and the money I was saving to donate to the impoverished Haitian girl I saw on the The Learning Channel who had a rare genetic disorder that caused her face to blow up to the size of a basketball leading her to suffocation and imminent death unless she had emergency surgery she couldn’t afford. And I had that money ready for just the right bet on just the right game because I, like so many others, wanted to feel the glory and passion for even the most meaningless things.

Just this past weekend I was at a crowded airport bar. Everyone was watching the University of Georgia vs. University of Florida game. Yet, on one obscure TV in the corner of the bar was the Boston College vs. University of Miami game. I couldn’t figure out why nobody was watching Boston College-Miami because it was indeed a great game. This was it; my moment to start gambling. I called the number for the bookie:

“Yup,” he answered.

“Hi this is David Romanelli calling. I met you last weekend at Michelle’s Bloomsteinbergwitz’s baby shower? Remember: we talked about my condo on Montana Avenue?”

(I later found out you’re not supposed to say your name let alone your address as gambling with a bookie is illegal).

I heard an angry silence on the line.

I continued, “What’s the line on Boston College-Miami?”

“Boston College-Miami? What the fuck are you talking about?!” he screamed before hanging up.

I thought to myself: he was so nice at the baby shower. My mom is friends with his mom. Wait til his mom hears about her asshole son with a gambling problem.

Anyway, I wanted to ensure I had a deeper passion and unbridled love for this random Boston College-Miami game, so I said to the bartender, “What’s the line on this game?” He turned away from the Georgia-Florida game, took a look at the obscure TV in the corner, turned back to me, then back to the obscure TV in the corner, took my beer away from me and said, “You’re cut off. I think you better get to your gate.”  But I saw how my friend Bill endured his wife’s anger and his children’s pain in order to live for his moment. And I too would persevere.

The game wound down to the final seconds and Miami was on the verge of winning. Not able to find anyone with whom to place a bet, I did the best I could to pretend as if I’d gambled. I was rooting hard for Boston College and when they threw a miraculous pass and reception for the victory, I jumped up and down screaming for people to pay attention. They looked at me as if I was nuts and the bartender went so far as to call the airport police who forcefully usherd me away.

I looked back at the obscure TV to catch a last glance at this sports miracle. It was right then that I saw appear on the screen:  CLASSIC SPORTS NETWORK.

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A late night grappa as you’re lounging by a cozy fire surrounded with new friends enjoying a snowy winter’s eve:
$12

A delicious meal preceded by a beer tasting at MSN.com’s Top 10 restaurant Eat, Drink, Dish in Vail:
$150

4 day ski pass for Vail/Beaver Creek in the heart of ski season:
$400

Gourmet grilling class on the slopes taught by award-winning chefs Pollyanna Forster and Jenna Johansen:
$200

A weekend of inspiring yoga classes with exotic chocolate, gourmet wine, and deeply restorative savasanas that sweep you to another world:
$350

Waking up on a snowy morning (with a little hang over) to find a mysterious naked person lying in bed with you and your partner and ink marker on your forehead with the image of a weenie: Priceless

The upcoming yoga retreat to Vail, Colorado (January 10-13) is 70% full. Join us for an unforgettable 4 days in the ultimate winter wonderland.