The Man Who Felt

Guilty for Resting

An 84-year-old gentleman came to work with me. He had served as a fighter pilot during World War II and had spent much of his life pushing forward, rarely taking time to care for the body that had carried him through it all.

We spent about thirty minutes at the ballet barre working on balance, control, and breath. Afterward, I helped him down onto the mat. His body was very stiff, so I supported him with pillows and invited him to close his eyes, soften his body, and simply follow his breath in and out.

I expected him to rest for only a few minutes. He stayed there for eighteen.

I sat quietly and watched as his body softened and his breathing became peaceful. When I slowly guided him out of savasana, the first thing he said was:

“I didn’t fall asleep… and I feel guilty.”

That word stayed with me

Here was a man who had lived through war and spent long hours confined to the cockpit of a fighter plane, yet he felt guilty for taking eighteen minutes to simply breathe and rest.

As he was leaving, he said something I will never forget: “That was the first time I’ve ever felt my back completely flat on a surface.”

Eighty-four years in one body, and perhaps for the first time, he allowed that body to be completely supported.

That experience reminded me that we are never too old to reconnect with the body that has carried us through our lives. Never too old to listen to our breath. Never too old to become still.

Sometimes, the gold we recover in the yoga room is found not in movement, but in finally allowing ourselves to rest.