Only Yoga Can Do It

It's the busiest weekend of the year for our restaurants.  The Clayton Art Fair brings tens of thousands of people literally to our front doors.  The whole team works at War Emergency Power for the 72 hours it lasts,  not to speak of the mountain of preparations we do for the weeks leading up to it.

It's Friday the 10th of September, just before midnight.  I've been on my feet, working hard, for nearly twelve hours, and the last guests have just departed.  What I still must accomplish: write a crucial and clear-headed assessment of Saturday's tasks, finish the daily bookkeeping, help the waiters move most of the tables in the dining room to prepare for an early-morning event, lock up, and then bicycle five miles home.

The problem is that I'm physically and mentally fatigued from cooking dinner for four straight hours, hauling pots of veal stock up and down stairs, and all the other challenging tasks associated with The Best Job in the World.  My back, knees, and shoulder muscles can be measured on a continuum between protest and open revolt.  I need some help fast.  Luckily I am the master of my fate, and I have options.

The delicious array of wines standing in formation on our slate-tiled bar.

The cigarettes in my co-workers pockets.

The cache of Belgian chocolate in the wine room.

The list of cab companies and their phone numbers.

Or I could unpack a little something I brought from home: Asanas.  Twisting Triangle for the back and shoulders.  Cow Face Pose for the hips and upper back.  Reclining Warrior for the knees.

After years of trying EVERYTHING in these common chef-in-real-life situations, I know what works.  I spend about five minutes gently breathing and moving though these postures, and suddenly I can actually figure out why the register seems to be short $56.32.  I can respond with intelligence to a suggestion that I wait a few more minutes while the servers polish up that last tray of clean silverware  (yes of course vs. &#%@?)  I can clearly picture the tasks of Saturday and relate them in order of priority.  I feel the kind of refreshment that is so comically dramatized by beverage companies, and I got it by bringing out something within my own mind.  Yoga isn't just a series of movements, but the body-knowledge of how to heal yourself.  It's the kind of knowledge that will serve you and teach you for the rest of your life.

When I do finally get everyone else out of the building and finish my list of closing tasks, I walk out into the peace of 1 a.m. in suburbia.  I get on my bicycle, and enjoy my ride home.

Only yoga can do that.



P.S.  I also ate a handful of the Belgian chocolate pistoles for good measure.