greetings from vegas

in vegas at magic, which i understand to be the world's largest tradeshow. i'm doing my semi-annual buying for the tranquiliT boutique. who would have thought that shopping would be so exhausting? 8-10 hours per day of pure sensory overload, co-existing with 95,000 other buyers, making decisions on what i think our yogis will like, and waiting in line after line after line.

i recall my first tradeshow in nyc with some serious fashionistas in january 2004. it was a bit of a shock into a new world SO very different than yoga, especially for someone who lives in yoga, not couture,wear. the fashion world IS different but it also allows me the opportunity to reflect on how to carry my yoga everywhere. isn't it easier to stay within a bubble where everyone is like you? isn't growth made when you take your values into new venues? this brings me back to the book i mentioned in yesterday's muse, the diamond cutter , where a buddhist monk took his values into the diamond industry.

a philosophy that i've always tried to instill at tranquil space is the notion of taking one's yoga off the mat and into the world non-dogmatically but with compassion. it's easy to do that if you only surround yourself with people just like you with the same views, same clothes, same background, same beliefs, same future goals, same spiritual outlook, etc. but what if you took yourself into a new world - volunteering, communing with people outside of your circle, exploring new fields, hearing other people's stories?

isn't it true that "everyone wants to change the world, but no one things of changing herself?" (one of my fave quotes - author unknown) well, why can't you be the catalyst for this change? exploring yourself and your prejudices, recognizing that you can only grow through change, challenge and new experiences. living in a bubble or only associating with people just like you probably won't offer much growth opportunity. i always smirk when people say they need to travel to india to learn to meditate or do yoga. i think it is much harder to try to meditate while surrounded by the sounds of the big city or to practice your yoga while surrounded by 95,000 people? that's what yoga has taught me. back to the bustling crowds of vegas...