Grandmother as Guru

1:19 There will be some who are born in a state of Yoga. They need not practice or discipline themselves (Heart of Yoga 155).

The first time I read Desikachar's translations of Patanjali's sutra 1:19 above, a very clear picture of my grandmother Patsy formed in my mind's eye.

Patricia Burns is a mother of eight and grandmother to thirteen. As a public school teacher for more than thirty years she taught so many first graders how to read in one small town in northern New Jersey that it is impossible to go anywhere in the county with her without some sheepish middle-aged person exclaiming, "Hey Mrs. Burns!" She always remembers their names. A self proclaimed "peace activist" (note distinction from the more pedestrian pacifist), Patsy is a lover of NPR and clipper of New York Times articles for all whom she knows. She is also the most advanced yogi I know.

Although impressive, Patsy's achievements in her career and as a mother are not what make her exceptional. It is her attitude that is special. Simply stated, she approaches life with keen curiosity and her greatest joy lies in the happiness of others. But most of all, she somehow always manages to see the good in others and love them for it. Oh, and she occasionally gives sage advice like, "Lighten up!"

Patsy is the kind of woman, who if brought face to face with the single person on earth she most disapproves of, (Georg W. Bush), she would no doubt lecture him crossly on his mistakes. But I would bet that she would also ask him if he's been eating enough and then caution him strongly against driving in any form of precipitation.

Fierce champion of the poor, Patsy has mobilized her small army of grandchildren to create a, "Compassion Fund" each holiday so that even the youngest of us learn the importance of giving and compassion.

Patsy has been following my meditation and yoga practice with intense curiosity and she is my favorite person to call when I've experienced a breakthrough in my practice. She somehow intuitively understands my impassioned ramblings, even when they are peppered with Sanskrit words. She understands and she approves. Once she told me it was her greatest prayer that I would find something like yoga in my life.

As Patsy follows along with me on my yoga journey she often inquires about specific techniques. A few months ago she was especially intrigued with the Loving-kindness meditation that I have been working with. She expressed interest in trying it and asked me to type out the the mental script for her, which I gladly did, "May I be safe, happy and free, May my loved ones be safe, happy and free...May all beings be safe happy and free."

It only dawned on me just this week how absurd this scenario truly is. Here I am explaining to her how much I've grown by devoting all of 20 minutes a day to loving all beings on earth, while her entire life is a practice of loving-kindness meditation. I know of no other person who loves more or gives more to her family and beyond. She does not need a sticky mat to practice loving-kindness. She is loving-kindness.

Call it grace or call it yoga, in our family we sometimes call her a saint... but mostly we just call her Patsy.