This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

The Thrift Store Find of the Century

A summer afternoon with a few hours to spare.  I stop into a thrift store to poke around, perhaps find a shirt or a CD. I do, in fact, find a shirt and amble up to the long line forming at the cash register. While standing in line, my eyes fall upon an object with which, as an Iyengar yoga practitioner, I have grown to love, and I think casually to myself, “Huh. A dwi pada viparita dandasana bench.”

Then I freeze. I do a double take the likes of which are generally reserved for slapstick comedies. My jaw drops open and I literally gasp.

A DWI PADA VIPARITA DANDASANA BENCH!!

Find out what's happening in Dexterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sitting behind the counter, propped up on its end so it stands tall, is a full-length wooden backbender  exactly like the one we have at the Yoga Space. It is a specialized yoga prop, usually custom-made.  A piece of craftsmanship that generally runs between $300 - $800. And it’s here, at the thrift store?!

Slack-jawed, I point at the backbender and ask the salesgirl, “Is that thing for sale???

Find out what's happening in Dexterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Already I can envision it gracing my own little yoga room at home; I can almost feel its graceful wooden curve supporting my upper back, opening my chest, providing such blissful, refreshing exhilaration.

“Yeah,” says the girl behind the counter. “It’s ten bucks.”

Ten bucks? Ten bucks!! I have ten bucks!! I definitely don’t have $300 - $800 to spend on this wonderful contraption, but I do have ten bucks!

“Somebody already got it, though.”

Again, I freeze. This time not with elation.

“What is that thing, anyway?” she asks.

I explain briefly that it is a yoga prop used for doing back bending poses in a gentle way. The woman in line behind me laughs and says she thought it was a magazine rack. I leave my name and number just in case whoever beat me to it changes their mind. But I know they won’t.

As I leave with my now extremely underwhelming shirt in hand, I am suddenly aware of what my mind and emotions have been doing for the last few minutes: after the initial shock of seeing this familiar object out of its usual context (which does throw our human brains into turmoil, doesn’t it?), I felt first sorrow at my perceived loss (a ten-dollar dwi pada viparita dandasana bench and I didn’t get it!!), and then envy bordering on anger towards the person who got there first. As though they took it from me. As though it was ever remotely mine in the first place.

I have to sigh and laugh at myself. This, clearly, is an exercise in what yoga philosophy calls mudita—feeling joy toward/with those who are joyful. Though my personal yoga room fantasy is now lacking a dwi pada bench and I can feel that lack even in the pit of my stomach, I decide to exhale. I decide to acknowledge the bench was never mine, to feel gratitude that I have access to the one at the Yoga Space on a regular basis, and—hardest and most necessary of all—to try instead of envy to cultivate mudita toward that lucky individual who just scored the thrift shop find of the century. Happy practicing, whomever you are!

Kirsten Brooks is a Teacher-in-Training at The Yoga Space in Ann Arbor, MI. Each week one of the teachers at the Yoga Space shares her thoughts and experiences in this blog. The Yoga Space is a studio just east of Dexter serving Saline, Chelsea, Manchester and Ann Arbor.  We have been helping people with their flexibility, strength, focus and stress management for over 14 years. Welcome Week with Free Classes and some Fundraising Classes for Alpha House September 3-7. Fall Classes begin September 9. We offer a free class the last Friday of each month from 6-7 pm. 180 Little Lake Dr #1 Ann Arbor, MI, 48103. www.yogaspaceannarbor.com 734-622-9600 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?