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Fitness for the Heart - Creating Community while Cleaning Up
Monday, November 07, 2011

Last night, I swirled into the Thursday evening BollyFit class I instruct a few minutes later than I would have liked to arrive. My delay was due to making fresh Roti, a flat bread typically eaten in India, for my husband and children before leaving for class. But between art projects strewn all over the floor and cuddling with kittens they missed while at school all day, the kids didn’t want to come sit by the stove when dinner was ready. After hurriedly feeding them, I rushed out the door and swerved through the first snow fall of the year to the studio.

Upon arriving, I noticed a layer of grit on the floor but barely paid attention to it because I wanted to set up and start class on time. It just looked like scuff marks, which was annoying, but I didn’t want to hold up the class from starting any longer. Then, Nisha, one of our BollyFit instructors, walked in, and we started chatting about choreography for the class as she entered the walk in- closet in the studio and emerged with a huge mop. Continuing to nod at me, she moved toward the dirt and, without any words, started to clean. By then, it was time to start the class, and I asked her if she minded if I start so we didn’t have to keep everyone waiting. Without emotion she nodded, and I explained to the students that we could only use half of the studio that evening because of the grime on the floor.

As I thought more about what happened that evening, it struck me that we truly are a team - not only in BollyFit but also in Michigan as we collectively pick up the mop and clean up the economic mess that seems to be in our room. The good news is, we are not the mess. The space in the studio was still present after the dirt was cleaned up. And Michigan is still here, with a fresh perspective, as we collectively clean the economic house together. Of course, the U.S. is an immensely hyperbolic macrocosm - yes, we as a nation continue to clean up messes for and with each other. Regardless of who or what is the cause for any given mess, we share the space.

Even though the weather is colder and the first snowfall has already occurred, it suddenly feels a little warmer knowing that we all carry the mop for each other. Even though we might feel alone at times, we are here for each other and, collectively, we adjust to the situation in the space.

In reference to Nisha, woman who swept - she is a long-time BollyFit student, now a Guide for classes, and uses BollyFit as her work-out and weight-loss outlet.

Postscript: Thank you again, Nisha!