CrissYoga: The Yoga World of Cristina…

My dear friend Lelet Volfango and I have this cute relationship.  We were joined to the hips as producers in Studio 23 back in the ’90s. 

From our partnership in Studio 23, we both jumped feet first into the logical-analytical world of business school.  She got the brochures and before long I was filling out application forms as well.

Everyone around us said creatives do not make sense in the business world.  You both are making a big mistake.

We made the decision December ‘98, resigned in January ‘99 effective February ‘99, did a few events gigs (I wrote, she did the logistics of the events), and before we knew it it was May already and we were crying the day before our entrance exam panicking that we didn’t have time to review!  Here are two “in-numerates” (illiterate in numbers) realizing that we quit our jobs and had no certainty of becoming accepted to school.  Panic button.  We allowed those external voices to get a foothold in our heads.  We were bawling silly.

We made it — exam, panel interview, pre-MBA school, then MBA.  We surprised ourselves in the journey.

During the first few days of classes, a piece of paper was being passed around to build the class directory.  A field in that paper is “hobbies.”  De Guzman is seated way in front of Volfango.  By the time Lelet saw the paper, I had already written in my info.  When she filled out hers, she rolled her eyes at some of the answers written under “hobbies.”  Then she looked at mine.  It said “sleeping.”  And so she wrote “sleeping with Crissy.”

To this day, we have a classmate/friend who thinks we’re a kinky pair.  And that is 8 years ago.

What he didn’t know is that whenever Lelet had a hard time sleeping at her bunk (we dormed at school campus for a few months to keep up with the school load), she would squeeze into my single bed and ended up having some of the most restful sleeps at campus. 

I lent her my “sleeping energy” in those times she needed it more than I did. 

Then we became apart, doing what we needed to do as individuals.

After 7 years of going separate ways, we’re fused to the hips again.  This time, she’s lending me her “push-pull energy.”  She pulls whenever I feel like becoming rajasic, jumping without all my safety nets in place.  She pushes whenever I become tamasic and stubbornly stay grounded.   

Amazing how a strong history of partnership can just be like riding a bike…you never forget.

I have never done partner yoga, but I’ve been reading up on it.   I think I will have many interesting dialogues with God once I get a chance to practicing that.

One time over at Vinyasa, Teacher Pio said that we don’t say thank you to those who practice with us in class.  We always acknowledge the teacher but not the fellow practitioners when their energy is vital to our practice as well.

Namaste, Lelet.