A Glimpse of An Alternate Reality

My teacher, Jennifer Kohl , just returned from a trip to an orphanage in Equador. The orphanage was "adopted" by my friend and fellow yoga teacher, Denise Brown and her husband Owen. During a community service trip to Equador, they came upon theorphanage in Guayaquil, Equador, where older children who are considered "un-adoptable" live until adulthood. The Browns were so taken by these children, that they created a foundation called Childhood Promise . Over the years they have raised enough money to bring better sanitation, nutritious food, healthy drinking water, and better education to these kids. They organized this trip so that Jen could help train the staff to do yoga and teach yoga to the children.

Jennifer's emails to us from Guayaquil could barely contain how moved and transformed she was by her experience with these children, the staff and the Peace Corps volunteers who work there. I was reminded of how important it is to step out of the comfort zone of our lives and into a completely different experience. Years ago, I lay on a float in the Mediterranean off of the beach in Tel Aviv during the summer of my sophomore year of college. The waves were soft and gentle; the sky was a perfect periwinkle blue; the hum of Hebrew buzzed around me, and the sound of kadima balls softly echoed off paddles as if many miles away. I felt as if I were made of light; I was completely relaxed, content, weightless, eternal and calm. I remember thinking, "no matter what happens in my life, I can always remind myself that halfway across the world, this place and this feeling exists."

Another similar memory is of coming home around dinnertime when I was working as a lawyer. My usual schedule was to leave Glen Ridge on the 8 AM train, and return at around 10 PM in a town car from the firm. Of course, by then, the streets were quiet and hushed. All around me, children were tucked into bed in their homes; curtains were drawn and lights were dim. But when I left at 5 PM -- a rare occasion and for me, a half day -- I was always amazed at the rush of people teeming onto the streets, down into the PATH train and going home. These were people who left work to a life beyond their jobs; whether filled with children, pets, hobbies, or simply relaxation. It was as though there were two separate realities -- the one I was getting a glimpse of, and the one I usually lived in.

Jennifer went to Guayaquil to give the orphans the gift of yoga, hoping that it would help them to better cope, and find happiness and peace. While I have no doubt that she enriched the lives of everyone she touched there, what she received -- a glimpse of another reality -- gave her more happiness and peace than she could have ever hoped to give. She came home transformed by the people she met, who gave her exactly what she needed.