“We moonwalk the foxtrot & polka the salsa,” Spice up Your Life, Matt Rowe, Richard Stannard, and the Spice Girls

Besides being super-catchy, and getting lots of air play throughout the 90s, this group’s songs were anthems for girls (and humans) everywhere. While Girl Power! as a battle cry might not have aged well into 2020, its heart is in the right place. Stand in your own power, with your friends beside you for support. Who doesn’t want to “spice up” their life? Among my personal faves: “We’ve always got each other.” “The lady is a vamp, she’s a vixen not a tramp.” “…’cuz I don’t care about the money, don’t be wastin’ my time.” 

Not all pop songs are silly bubble-gum drivel. By the same token, who cares if they are? Depth is in the eye of the beer holder…uh, the beholder. (Upcoming post: misheard lyrics that might actually be even better than the originals.) We need burger-flippers AND CEOs. We need things to veg out to, as well as things to make us think. I devour books whole, and usually find myself alternating light with heavy, and will read nearly anything I can get my hands on. 

When I first heard the song “Spice up Your Life,” which feels like 100 years ago, it made me tap my toes & sing along. But I can’t not hear the lyrics, like really hear them, and connect them to my life, and my Yoga. 

We are living through some confusing, confounding, changing times. Here’s what struck me today. There’s a medium-sized bush-tree-type thing between the chimney and garage. In Winter it’s nekkid, branches reaching in all directions. It looks spindly and not quite happy. In Spring, it’s full of yuuuuuge white flowers. In Summer, it’s green as could be. In Fall, it’s losing its leaves which have turned red. So far, so normal. It’s going through its cycle, as it no doubt has been for forever. However, there are fuzzy buds on it (it looks like a pussywillow’s but I really don’t know what it is.) Perhaps it’s the unseasonable temps, but perhaps it’s something more. The tree doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be doing. Ha! Who does? 

The quote for me means that it’s time to flip things on their head, metaphorically. Why not moonwalk the foxtrot? Let’s polka the salsa. Perhaps there’s nothing new under the sun, but we can sure “spice up” our lives! It is up to us to figure out who we are as we move through life. As Dolly Parton says, “figure out who you are and do it on purpose.” Everyone will put their own spin on things to a certain extent. 

Svadhyaya, or self-study in Sanskrit, is an on-going process. I know I feel better when my mat gets rolled out on a regular basis, whether for asana practice (physical postures,) or meditation. My practices allow me to go inside, and be alone with my thoughts. Sometimes, though, they allow me to leave my brain at the door, and just move and feel. 

I like my everything bagels with strawberry cream cheese, and my raisin bagels with veggie. I talk, I listen, I read, I feel, I debate, I sing, I me. 

Try this experiment: close your eyes. Picture a tree swing, something most suburbanites are familiar with. Don’t think about it too much, just whatever image pops in your head. Which one are you? Did you moonwalk the foxtrot? Did you polka the salsa? There is no one way to be. 

Whatever image comes into your head, it’s yours. Run with it, and let’s go dancin’! 

If this resonated with you, please feel free to comment below or drop me an email. Until our mats unfurl again, be well.

-M