Yoga Moments 1: Travel Yoga

Train People Are Kind People

I have a few entries but I'm tired and still in my workout pants - so I will relate the simple beginning of my Yoga Conference.

First of all, when the train pulled in to my departure point (Kitchener) at 6:30 Thursday morning, I had a brief moment of wishing I could show my nephew. He loves trains - and I got to ride to Toronto on the SPIDERMAN train. I guess VIA's raising some revenue by renting out billboard space on its engines, and the entire engine was wrapped in one of those bus-ad type graphics, for the new Spidey 3 movie. It was all webbed up with Good Spidey and Bad Spidey facing off across the side.

My train yoga moment occurred later in the trip at the 2nd last stop. An elderly lady had boarded at Kitchener, with her daughter, or maybe granddaughter or companion, I don't know, and her walker. She had lots of help boarding as the attendants let her on first, they stowed her walker in baggage for her, and she could carefully walk her way down the aisle bracing herself on all the empty seats while her companion was close behind.

At her stop, Brampton, the woman was concerned that she not miss her stop and even though her companion was trying to settle her and tell her to wait, she became very anxious to get to the door - many minutes before the train had stopped moving. Walking a narrow aisle on a swaying, bumping train is not easy with no mobility challenges and this lady had a few. She also had a death grip on a handbag with no strap that she wouldn't give to her younger companion, it seemed. She quickly lost her balance struggling up the aisle.

Instantly and without thought, every passenger seated on the aisle began reaching out to offer a hand. Some did so without even looking or really knowing what was up, as they had their backs towards this scene but saw the passenger across from them reach. Nobody crowded or jumped up, but hands went out all the way down the car and our traveller was graciously helped along from seat to seat to seat either by someone grasping her hand to steady her or putting her hand on their shoulder and having her lean on them as she went by. There were more hands than were needed (which is probably good as min were tangled in yarn and I was afraid I might stab her with a stray knitting stick). Her companion was apologetic that the woman was so anxious to move and caused a fuss, and felt she had to explain that she was afraid to miss her stop, but both of them were met with nothing but smiles and winks and "no worries!".

The car attendant had her walker ready for her at the luggage cage and she was waiting in plenty of time to be helped down when the door opened at her stop.