Once a month or so, my body craves red meat. That being the case, I like to have a little on hand in the freezer. Last week, however, I pulled out the wrong container to defrost. I thought it was my meat. Turned out it wasn’t. I was a few bites into my rissole before I realised that I was eating cat food.
I don’t know exactly what’s in the cat food mince that I buy. It’s mostly cow (no idea which parts) and probably some other animals as well. I kept telling myself that it’s the ‘other parts’ of the animal which are generally far more nutrient-rich than the lean cuts we normally eat. I tried to drum this home to make myself feel better about it. Regardless, over the coming days, the more I thought about it, the queasier I felt.
On Monday night, I arrived at the yoga studio to teach a class. I was feeling quite nauseous and wasn’t sure how much I had to give. Most of my attention was spent trying to control the over-salivation that comes with the feeling that you’re about to vomit.
I shared my experience with one of my yogis who found it so hilarious, that I found her uncontrollably laughing throughout class—head in hands, tears in the eyes and her whole body shaking from laughing so much.
So, I approached her. “Are you serious?”
Apparently me asking that made it even funnier. We had a little giggle together (mine was little, hers was quite substantial) while I held back the need to vomit.
The beautiful thing about this exchange was the fact that when I normally see this particular yogi, it’s at the end of a stressful day and she’s there because she needs yoga. It felt like I gave more to her that evening, when I felt that I had such little to give, than I did in any of my prior yoga classes.
Life being the eternal education, this week I learned three things.
One: When you feel that you have nothing to give, just show up as yourself. It’s enough.
Two: The Placebo —or Nocebo, in this case— Effect is powerful. The way you perceive your external environment impacts the way you experience your internal environment. Manage your thoughts.
Three: Label your pet food.