On Set Yoga

Once I had shared my 30 by 30 list with my father, he handed me a flyer for a blood drive at our local mall that started last Wednesday. Wasting no time, we headed over so I could sign up, get my pin, answer all of the nurse’s questions, and then fail when it got to the blood test. Apparently, my iron level is really low, so they won’t let me give blood. Instead, the nurse gave me a flyer with a list of foods I should be eating more of in order to increase my iron. So, still have 30 left to do, and Iron Man I am not.

Thursday was a fun day at McGill before spending Friday on set in Hamilton. It was for a non-union Docu-drama show, which was both a lot of fun, and very interesting. For one, since everyone was non-union and no one was really known, we all got pretty similar treatment. There was a truck where they were continuously making food, and a spread was available. Normally, it is just for cast and crew, but this time, background was allowed to go there too, and the woman who manned it was the nicest caterer I had ever met. The food was delicious also, in case you were wondering.

We had been told to wear yoga gear, and actually ended up doing a yoga sequence over and over for the scene, then were kept for a pizza parlour scene hours and hours later. We kind of stayed in our yoga clothes for that, since we hadn’t been told to bring anything else. We were very aware of the fact that since it was a flat rate, we were getting paid the same amount for being there all day (13 hours) as those who had come in the evening, but all things considered, we are still getting paid more than if we had just gotten the hourly rate on a union project, and I had an amazing time getting to know my fellow practitioners. We laughed, we did yoga together, and got giddy from exhaustion. Definitely people I would love to catch up with next time I am in Toronto!

This weekend I caught up on sleep and spent a lot of time with family, including the strong, talented, fierce ladies I get to call my family. I am so grateful on this International Women’s Day, that I was raised in a family where the women held their own, accomplished their dreams and didn’t let traditional gender roles define them.

“Do you want to talk to the man in charge – or to the woman who knows what’s going on?”

-the sign that hung in our family business while I was growing up