Yoga and Futbol

 I told Denise that I would play soccer with him and his friend Armen. I walked to the train station and got some information about the train and they told me it was a night train, which I had no interest in me staying up all night on a train.

I took Denise and we walked over to the park. As soon as we arrived, we were bombarded by all these kids that wanted to play with us on the field that had parts of it missing almost to the point of tripping and falling over it, but clear goals were there and a good space.

The one kid was very cute as he spoke great English and he gave me instructions on what team I was on, when I would play, and when I would be goalkeeper. There was a couple kids playing with no shoes who were very eager to win and they kept scoring. When their father told them, it was time to come home I was so thrilled because then we could just play the four of us, but then an older kid, aka named himself Messi, came into the mix. He was just taking over the ball, not passing, and I decided I was going to try and block his goals. He was not that good by any means, but I realized that he wanted to have this confidence boost so we just rolled with it. The English kid and I would laugh when he thought he would be making a goal and it went all the way 10 feet outside the goal. Arman and Denise seemed like they were out of breathe from all the running. We walked home listening to “Me gusta tu.” They do not know English, but we can all enjoy this Spanish song together walking down the streets singing the lyrics. He also played some nice Russian dance songs. He is only 9 years old, but you would think he is at least 13 with his teen like qualities.  His taste in music is amazing for someone his age and I told him that he is the “King of Spotify.” He was such a cute kid and he was raised the way kids should be-playing outside, being involved in activities, spending quality time with his mom and sister.

Earlier in the day, Yulia had mentioned attending yoga in the evening and invited me to come, which was the last thing I really wanted to do when my back seemed fully recovered and I was going to travel the next day. She mentioned that she is a Russian instructor who likes to focus on sports yoga. I did not realize until we got there it was private session with just me, her, and the instructor. This meant increased focus on my movement and what I am not doing right- a lot of things were not working right with my flexibility being at an all time worst and being in the overweight category. I told her that I had not done yoga for almost 3 years and she looked at me with a shocked and disappointed expression.

Yulia told her to go easy on me and just do some slight readjusting from time to time. The instructor was super sweet. She wore a blonde braid and she had clear braces on. It is fascinating how many different types of Russians there are- and there are some that I meet like Yulia and her that were just so sweet.

The main point here is that Yulia, my brilliant translator, was also going to help translate most of the session into English and the instructor was also going to learn some new English words-heels, toes, lay flat, inhale, exhale, etc. Alexandra, the yoga instructor, would adjust my position and then smile and return to her mat. She had to do extra work adjusting my body movements and translating Russian to English as well. These positions were all familiar to me except the laying and stretching on top of the yoga blocks. It was embarrassing that my balance was off and I needed extra instruction.

In a class in America, this would be annoying for the classmates to have one person causing such commotion.

In this class, with these two Russian women- I could not believe how they spent time translating and learning yoga instructions in English. They learned the word, “toes and elbow.” lol

These Russian girls were teaching me better than any yoga instructor ever would or could and I felt great after our session.

At the end we turned off the lights, she wrapped me in a blanket and even covered my toes. We laid on the floor for 10 minutes listening to the most calming Indian chants.

We shared some tea made with Armenian herbs together and took some cute photos.

Always acknowledge when someone is taking extra time to make you feel happy and satisfied. This is a special quality of people who are truly authentic human beings.

She went to the Syrian café downstairs and I ended up taking a Yandex back to the house. I wanted to spend time with the kids and the nanny-oh Mano I loved this woman so much. She was a beautiful, classy, curious, full of life type of woman. When I got back, they were all playing uno together. The guitar/piano/euchilaly/ instructor was playing some uno with Mano and the kids after their lesson. He said that it is common for Russians to have piano lessons at least twice a week and learn a couple different instruments(not surprised at all).

As a child, he said he learned the piano, saxophone, and the cello. It is great that kids are so active learning and trying things to do what they enjoy. Yulia was not at all the type of mother who “made her kids do activities.” She was the mother who gave her child the freedom to choose what they enjoyed and gave them options.

After they finished playing, Mano was telling me all about her love for India. She loves all the different colors, the smells, and she wishes she could eat spicy food and learn how to make dosa. She played her favorite Russian song for me again and was dancing around the living room. She definitely uplifted my spirit when I was around her and I told her she had the best English of any Armenian woman and this was true!

She cooked the Ponchik for me which was the Russian dumplings. She told me to add pepper, add butter, or add cream. She said you can even add all three if you would like to-she said I like salt. I said, “Me-no salt, but pepper.” Yulia came back and a bit later and we ended up watching a Netflix movie together- an inspirational film about how women can make it to the top without a man and to truly break a mans heart is to damage his ego. It was inspiring for me to realize how much men can either lift you up or just bring them right down with them. He could not handle her success(familiar situation) and he failed miserably because he was desperate for success.  Yulia loved and appreciated cinema so she would stop and point out different cuts and what kind of impact that had on her feeling.