Day 86 Say NO to Sniffing!

We had a sniffer in class today. You know the kind. We’re all lying in Savasana, waiting for the class to start. The silence in the room is broken only by the soft trickle of the humidifiers and the occasional rustle of people adjusting their mats.

Then… sniff, sniff. Snork, snert, sniff.

Pause.

Sniff-sniff-sniff. Rapid-fire. Like a Beagle on scent. Not a productive sort of sniff, which although grosser, at least one can understand. This was the unnecessary nervous-tic sort of sniff. Or maybe it was the type of sniff you do when there’s a dry booger way up high that’s driving you nuts, but it won’t dislodge by blowing, so you try to suck it back up into your brain instead.

Personally, I think it was an attention-getting sniff. A cry for help, if you will.

A damp towel applied firmly over mouth and nose for a few minutes, I thought. That would help.

I had to grip onto my inner peace with both fists, I tell you, because that’s the sort of thing to drive me right postal. I lifted my head to see if I could identify the culprit. (Why? What difference would it make? Would I really attack her with my towel? I have no answers…)

Snerkle-sniff.

Breathe-in. Breathe-out. Do not sit up and yell, “For God’s sake, get a tissue!”

What is it with people who do things like this? (The sniffer I mean, not me, the psycho-reactor.) Are they completely unaware of the fact that they are making the only – and certainly the most unpleasant – sound in the room? Are they deaf?

Perhaps I have nasal-mucous issues, I’m willing to admit the possibility. After all, I grew up blocking out the sound of my dad gargling on his own post-nasal drip, and still gag at the thought.

Sniff-sniff.

So, okay, maybe it’s me. Maybe I’m the only one getting irritated. Big picture, let it go, don’t sweat the small sniffs…

Then the woman next to me let out an overly deep breath. And another one cleared her throat, rather deliberately.

Coincidence? Maybe. The class started then, effectively shutting down the sniffer, so we’ll never know.

But I choose to believe that I’m not alone with my sniff-issues.