“To develop your Inner-G, you need to do a couple of things. First of all, you have to shut down the noise. No one can think in the constant dinging and ringing of society. Social media, scrolling, sound bites, phones, traffic. We are a society of interruptions and disruptions. ADHD is an epidemic in society, not because more people have focus and attention problems, but because we are not built for the world we have created. That is a core principle of Inner-G: Change the world, not yourself.” With a look at Gabby, she said, “That is why we need to get rid of phones.”
Did she have ADHD? Instagram kept sending her quizzes with blurry pictures, captionedIf you see a dog when you look at this, you have ADHD.Gabby always saw the dog.
“Develop a mind-body connection.”
At least she didn’t have to be an athlete.
“Develop your connection to nature. Root your person to the earth itself like a tree and disconnect from the noise. Breathe with intention.”
Breathing and sitting—that sounded fine.
“The last and most important step of Inner-G is releasing secrets. If you keep secrets locked inside, they will chip away at your power, block the flow of energy. You cannot grow or transform while harboring secrets. You cannot become your best self, and you definitely cannot become a power couple if you are keeping secrets. Stop holding in toxic energy. Stop telling lies.”
Well, so much for that one. At this point, Gabby’s entire life was a tangled web of lies; the only thing holding it together was the secrets. But she could vouch for the secrets-being-bad-for-relationships thing. Valentina asking her to spy on Markus tied her stomach in knots.
“The first step to a better relationship with your partner and with yourself is purging secrets. You must develop a confessional practice.”
A confessional practice—it wasn’t very hard to figure out how Inner-G was collecting information to sell.
“The G-hut is a safe space. We’re going to go around the circle. I want each of you to share your greatest fear.”
What was this,Harry Potter? Professor Lupin was going to have them each cast a Patronus against their greatest fear? Kyle and Lucas both loved the Harry Potter movies.
She went to a quiet place in her mind, hoping the bell would ring before her turn. The women to her left piped up with, “Aging,” and, “My kids won’t need me anymore,” and, “Irrelevance,” and “Never making anything of myself.”
Then it was her turn. Gabby didn’t have an answer prepared. She was going to say,That I’ll never find the G-spot, but when Jasmine looked at her and the gong sounded, her fear spilled out like water from a pitcher.
“That I can’t do it all.”
Jasmine nodded. “Because you can’t.”
Before yoga but after chanting, outside the G-hut
Gabby found Markus waiting outside the G-hut, a fanny pack dangling from an extended hand. “You forgot your bag,” he said with a smile.
The bag he was holding was empty. He was up to spy business. Thank God, because she needed a break from introspection. Spying was easier.
Jasmine smiled. “Be honest, George. You missed her.”
Gabby was sure there was a secret note in the bag.
Markus played along. “Can’t blame me for missing my baby on our honeymoon.” He wrapped his arm around Gabby and steered her away from the group. “Are you all on break or…”
“Yoga is in a few hours,” Jasmine said, then turned to Gabby. “But I’m meeting some of the other women in my office for a matcha before the class. Gia’s invited.”
Markus grabbed Gabby’s hand. “Matcha? I’d never get between Gia and a matcha. I’ll have her back before class.”
Markus knew she thought matcha tasted like dirt.
As soon as they were out of range, Markus became all business. “Val wants to talk.”
“What is it?”
He shrugged. “Something important.”
“How was your thing?” Gabby asked Markus as they hustled down the path.
“Genesis was half naked and talking about living in his mind cave.”
