Relaaaaaxxx

Acting class ROCKS.  Obviously - it's all I seem to want to talk about!  Today after about twenty minutes of moving our bodies to music with the lights nearly dark, he had us lay down on the stage for a relaxation exercise.

Always needing a way to relax, I looked forward to this, especially since my body was good and warmed up from all the movin and shakin I had just made a fool of myself with.  Normally you wouldn't catch me dead movin and shakin anything but my index finger, but in this class everyone looks like an idiot and it feels so freeing to just let the limbs and hips do what they may.

Anyhoo.

Relaxation...

I melted onto the hard floor and did exactly as the professor told us to do...

Deeeeep breath innnnnnnnnn.........

......annnnnnnnnd exhhhaaaiillllll.......

tense your feet as tight as you can get them.......

.......annnnnnnnnd RELAX. (yes, sometimes he said it really abrupt like that and it made me giggle)

This went on with the various body parts, and the feeling of letting go of every ounce of tension was absolutely delicious.  After we became Jell-O and flitted away our stress to the awaiting Universe, he told us to leave our bodies and go somewhere...

Basically he told us to go to our happy place, somewhere that fills us with love, comfort, whatever it is that makes us feel happy and feel good.  I won't say what my happy place is, I never will - and I won't ask you yours.  It's so personal, and once you let it out to the open, it is at the mercy of others who might judge, ridicule, or otherwise ruin all your fun.

I lay there motionless, nearly asleep, each and every one of my muscles obeying and relaxing for me...all except one - the ol' sphincter.  Yup, it was all I could do to keep myself from floatin a biscuit (read: fart) in the middle of an echoey stage, full of quiet relaxed classmates.  I tried to ignore the belly rumbling and pinched best I could, so maybe I wasn't exactly in full-on relaxation mode, but I did save the class from an uncomfortable encounter with That Old Lady.

Anyway, it is a fantastic class and I wish I had it every day, all day.  There's a community play coming up and the professor wants us all to audition - it's The Wizard of Oz.  I'm thinking I have a raging Wicked Witch brewing inside me (pun intended) and I just might give it a go.

Wish me luck!