Last weekend I had a director for the Pranakriya School of Yoga in town to help lead yoga teacher training. His name is Vladimir and he currently resides in Atlanta, GA, but is originally from Bulgaria.
On Saturday, Vlad and I came back to the house as my husband was doing some chores. I went up to the bedroom to change and a large mirror that has hung over his dresser for years was on the floor, broken. He said he had heard something as he was working around the house, but couldn’t tell where it had come from.
The next day, I made a joke to Vlad about the mirror being bad luck.
Vlad explained that in Bulgaria and many other countries, broken glass is good luck. Actually, in many countries broken glass means good luck.
To that I replied, ‘Well, since I have a Bulgarian in the house, it’s good luck!’
At dinner that night, I mentioned the conversation to Levi and Vlad expanded. He explained in Bulgaria, a black cat crossing your path means you’re about to have a visitor. Or if you spill your drink, it means that your ancestors wanted a sip and were reaching for the glass at the same time, causing it to spill.
I have to admit, I loved this conversation and have thought a lot about it the last week. Taking an idea and shifting it around so the entire energy has a different meaning is so intriguing to me and very in line with how our practice can change the energy of our bodies and mind in a short amount of time. Leaving class or practice feeling a little lighter or less stressed is a great takeaway. We live in a society that is so eager to latch onto the negative, removing [superstition] which depletes our energy, in my opinion, is a healthier option.
Individuals attach a lot of meaning to certain scenarios, objects and more. In yoga, the practice of removing these labels, ideas or associations to become closer to the authentic self is a constant exercise of rejuvenation. And in the case of attaching negativity to a broken mirror, what was briefly a daunting cloud became a ray of hope.
Sending you hope,
~Carmen