Week of April 8th
Hi my Beautiful Celestial Beasts!
Apparently Bonnie Tyler's song Total Eclipse of the Heart was about a toxic love affair. Where the love was so intoxicating it overshadowed any good judgement, too blind to see any way out. Seems terrifying, the song sounds way more haunting now. Around 11:30am today, you may have noticed the Seattle sky was dark and grey. So you may have noticed nothing at all. However, behind our quilted ceiling, way above the drones and that halo seal that breaches the Earth's hemisphere, we were experiencing a partial eclipse. Hawaii had a small cookie bite taken out. Alaska didn't even get a nibble. But places like Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire are all part of the path of totality. The moon and sun's itinerary of rendezvous have them starting in Mexico, clipping along the US from the bottom SW corner to the top NE corner, stopping in Canada. Passing diagonally through our country like a droopy sash on a tired Queen.
Other than inspiring an 80's ballad song about two delusional lovers, (if you listen to it again with context they sound psycho. "...And we'll only be making it right ... 'Cause we'll never be wrong." They need to block each other's phone number and therapy), the solar eclipse can cause the most unassuming turbulence. Up to four minutes of darkness might not seem like much of an inconvenience.
However, having the blinds dramatically dropped midday, especially a sunny clear day, can confuse the circadian rhythm of any nocturnal or diurnal species. Apparently a spider will destroy its web as totality approaches, thinking it's dusk and packing up their tent at the end of the day. Bats have flown out of caves, emerging from their roosts. Looking for their midnight breakfast when really it's the middle of the afternoon. Frogs will start to come alive and socialize while certain flowers start to close up. The ultimate prank you can play on these animals, a big game of "PSYCH!" Ants might have the smartest strategy, they just freeze. Standard operations halt, they don't panic or assume anything. They pause and assess .. resume operations once balance is restored.
Humans aren't much different and we have no right making fun of the bats and the spiders. Some people experience odd visual signals, from the sharpness of shadows and a change in how we perceive color. Colors that are usually rich appear muted, almost like your natural night vision wants to turn on but isn't sure, so it's stuck in some in between hue. Studies have been done that prove the solar eclipse makes people have "weird feelings." I love how specific the conclusion of that study is. It can bring about temporary deep emotional shifts.
A lot of this goes back to our previous preamble about sunlight. The connection between a healthy circadian rhythm and how much it affects our mental health. Now, I don't think an eclipse will all of a sudden turn some of the more circadian sensitive humans into werewolves. Totality is just a blip of weird but does not have any long term effects. Unborn babies are not harmed, you do not get food poisoning if you're eating during it, spirits are not stealing the sun. However, in one moment there are so many subtle natural resets happening. Besides the light switch turning off and back on, temperatures cool down, wind directions can change, winds can abruptly stop, birds and other sounds can abruptly stop. Then there's the eerie effect when the eclipse moves from west to east, adding to the perception that time isn't moving in its normal path. It all can feel like we're in a black and white episode of the Twilight Zone. In fact, for the next eclipse I would like to make a request that everyone freezes the second the sun is totally covered. Freeze like the ants do! Rod Sterling is the only one allowed to stroll around, weaving between us with his hands in his suit pockets, narrating what's happening.
This week let's all be reminded that nature and it's cycles are definitely a force. One that isn't totally obvious but it's there- always spinning and rolling around us. When something is constantly moving among other things that are constantly moving (humans, planets, the sun, the Earth....conflicting SPRING BREAK SCHEDULES), changes and collisions are bound to happen. In fact, nature depends on it. For some silly reason our species are obsessed with dependability and relying on things to stay the same. We instinctively try to fight or control any changes. We can get very thrown off when there's the smallest hiccup.
I see it in mat and reformer classes all the time. When someone new takes a spot that a regular client likes, doesn't matter if there are tons of other options, they spin in tight circles trying to figure out where to go. Literal spiraling. Sure it's fine, they say it's fine, but just need a beat to pivot. Waking up later than expected, or way earlier than expected; we can let it throw off our whole day. The weather took a turn before heading off to what was supposed to be a sunny vacation; we can let that ruin the whole trip. That term "go with the flow" sounds so cliche but I do think when we drive a wedge in the universe's change in current, it creates all sorts of unnecessary turmoil.
Much like sea sickness, we can actually get ill when our equilibrium is trying to fight what the actual natural conditions are. Your brain wants to be in a steady living room on land, but your body is in fact in a rolling ocean. That's what creates nausea. It's easier to ride out what's actually happening instead of forcing what's not; sink and lift with the ground we are experiencing.
Whether in the studio or in everyday life, I think we should trust the process, trust the inevitable changes and all the natural blips, be patient and laugh at ourselves through it all. I personally love there's a day where every species, including the human one, are all the butt of the same practical joke. Makes me feel extra connected during this freaky phenom. I think we should also pivot to life's blips like the birds, bats, spiders, and ants. The bats probably return to their caves, look on their iPhones and realize the real time, laugh at themselves and continue being bats. Not have a meltdown and wait in line at the bat embassy (which is somewhere between Transylvania and Gotham City) asking for a reimbursement for not having a perfect day as a bat. They just go back to sleep, with restored trust in the universe.
Also, although we should soak in certain UV rays, and our eyes should feel the benefits of dawn and dusk lighting, never look straight at an eclipse! Also do NOT turn around if Bonnie Tyler tells you to "Turn Around"... I repeat "do NOT turn around." I don't trust her and her situation at all. She needs to look into a restraining order.
Excited to make your bodies sweat, smile, and keep moving and laughing through life's inevitable blips and freaky phenoms.
XO!
Celeste
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