The other day, another conundrum about how to live a healthy, balanced life in the real world. This one just arrived the other day in the lime.com mailbag:

Dear Su—

I have a question that has been perplexing me lately, and didn't know who to ask until I saw your answer to Jimmy’s Enviro-Etiquette question on LIME.

Here’s the deal: After realizing that my flexibility was sorely lacking on all fronts, I’ve been taking regular yoga classes for about three years now. While I’m no expert, I’m a little closer to touching my toes and do feel much more “centered.”

A big part of the process has been my extremely fantastic instructor, who is patient and encouraging and on the whole very inspirational.

The problem? He reeks. I’m not talking about day-old B.O. here, I’m talking about a pretty deep funk. A funk that makes me think that, at the very least, he has not seen the center of a shower in a long, long time.

So, am I just lacking depth or getting caught up in the surface of things? I feel terrible, but he smells terrible! And here’s the thing: I want to delve deeper into yoga and into knowledge of the universe and myself, but I get too distracted to do it when he’s near me.

Am I too hygenic at the expense of my soul?

-- Yoga funk

Dear Yoga funk:

For the sake of your soul, I'll make this simple: Go get yourself another guru.

I'm sure that he's an excellent teacher. I'm sure he's so good that you can clamp your nostrils shut with your toes. But hygiene isn't really the issue (for you anyway.) After all, most yogis are willing to overlook a little normal human funk. Who hasn't worked up a good stink after a grueling class?

Yoga -- according to every teacher I've ever had -- asks you to open yourself up to the universe. But this guy causes you to recoil. I need to double-check my Yoga for Dummies manual, but it's hard to find your center if you're flinching.

See, your mind is too busy listening to one of its most trusted informants: Your nose. Regardless of the excuses you make for your teacher, your mind has already put body and soul on lock-down.

I know it's hard to find a good teacher. But this isn't working for you. Don't believe me? Go ask a good cook, fireman or new mom for their opinion. They'll tell you: The nose always knows.