Poetica Magazine

Yiddish Yoga Author Lisa Grunberger’s Adventures in St. Louis, Missouri for the Jewish Book Festival, November, 2009

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In my presentation of my book at JCCs and Borders I move between my voice and my character, Ruthie’s voice. Ruthie is a recently widowed 72 year old Jewish Bubby (not Bubba, like they had in Houston, Texas, where I just was the speaker at the annual Sisterhood luncheon, a fabulous event) whose granddaughter Stephanie, gives her the gift of yoga to help her grieve. Ruthie kvetches: “ Who other than meshuguneh artists and the unemployed can afford to do yoga in the afternoon?” I’ll turn it over to Ruthie now.

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I just returned from a book tour that the mensch-lich folks of the Jewish Book Council sent me on. I was in St. Louis, Missouri where I was wined and dined by two terrific women (and bubbe’s like me!) – Nancy and Barbara. I would write their last names, but who knows what the privacy policies are on these meshugeneh virtual airwaves.

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I was given a marvelous tour of the newly renovated JCC by Marcia Levy, the maven organizer who runs a tight, but fun ship. These folks are proud of their JCC and their vibrant Jewish community. I wish I had taken a picture of the swimming pool area Marcia showed me. Before my presentation of Yiddish Yoga, I witnessed toddlers from the local Jewish day-care center splashing in this spectacular pool and right next to them, separated by buoys, were seniors citizens swimming laps. The young and the old side by side mid-morning, a moving sight. And I thought to myself, this is lovely, but what happens in between –the people who need to splash and play the most – all the over-worked Americans in mid-life – should be immersed in these waters. But enough kvetching.

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After hanging out with the photographer and the staff in the “green room” kibitzing and having coffee, I was escorted into the grand space. The audience could not have been more receptive – it was like a live laugh track! I was kvelling. And it’s true, that a performer (if I may call myself this) does indeed get energy from the audience. We did chair yoga, we did tree pose, and seated twists. Oy, it was so much fun. Even their technical sound system was impressive,. These folks on St. Louis know how to throw a Jewish Book Festival! Would you believe they are the largest Jewish Book Festival in the United States? And I, Ruthie, was up on the stage, kvetching and stretching, schvitzing and twisting. I’m kvelling for myself.

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After the show and the book signing where I met countless mensch-lich people (and if you don’t know the Yiddish, my book, Yiddish Yoga, has a Yiddish and a Sanskrit glossary), we went for lunch at a beautiful park on a lake. The best part was the old-fashioned custard at Ted Drewes after. This is an historically important foodie spot on Route 66 as it should be for ice-cream, after all, is one of life’s great blessings. Sometimes my memory isn’t so good, but it’s improving with all the yoga I’ve been doing. I think Barbara had strawberries and bananas on her custard, and Barbara had a brownie sundae. I had the brownies with pistacho nuts – delicious is not the word for it. I wish they could place it in dry ice and ship me some to NYC right now.

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Stay tuned for accounts of my travels to Houston and Indiana.

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I’ll leave you with one of my Twitters (you can follow me on this at Yiddish Yoga; I’m getting hip to all this technology at my age):

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I was at Loehmann’s and tried on a one-size-fits-all. It was too small; good thing I’m flexible or I’d still be stuck!

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Ok, here’s one more, and then I’m saying Om Shalom.

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It’s raining, it’s pouring, a yente on the mat is snoring!

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OM SHALOM,

Guest Bloggers LISA AND RUTHIE

Thanks for reading JWorld Cafe, the Poetica Magazine Blog

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- www.yiddishyoga.com 

- lisa@yiddishyoga.com 

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Lisa Grunberger was raised in Long Island, NY, by an Israeli mother and a Viennese Father. With a doctorate in Comparative Religions from the University of Chicago Divinity School, as a Yoga teacher, a college professor and published writer, Lisa Grunberger is an entertaining and passionate public speaker. Her chapbook of poems, Root Canal: Love Poems is forthcoming from Poets Wear Prada Press (Roxeanne Hoffman, editor, Hoboken, NJ). She has been published in such journals as The Paterson Literary Review, Mudfish, Nimrod, The Drunken Boat, and Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal. She has taught at universities including Hofstra, the Bronx Community College, SUNY at Old Westbury and Parsons, and The New School School of Design. She is currently an Assistant Professor in English at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her illustrated gift book, Yiddish Yoga: Ruthy’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Pose was published by New Market Press in September, 2009.