Day 48 When God Opens a Window
Actually, it wasn’t God, it was Tony, one of the owners of the studio, but it was a little miracle, nonetheless.
It was a very full room, as I believe I’ve mentioned. Lots of bodies. Lots of big, hard bodies. The kind that produce their own heat. Real estate was at a premium, but I managed to snag a spot in the corner, at the bottom, near the windows. There’s something psychologically helpful about seeing fresh air and water, even if you can’t get at it.
Ida Ripley is gorgeous, cheerful and yes, a good instructor. She used a few people for demonstrations, identifying subtle movements that make big differences in how the postures work. That was all good.
But it was really hot, hotter than usual, in that room.
After about the fourth or fifth posture, I was getting into trouble. I’d drunk most of my water already, and was feeling not great. I made it through the standing series, and was lying down in savasana, looking at the scant half-cup left in my bottle, wondering how I’d make it last, when a shadow loomed over me.
Tony, red-faced and dripping, reaching for the window. He pulled it open an inch and instantly, I felt a cool breeze float over me. I guess I wasn’t the only person feeling a little desperate. I’ve never enjoyed the tickle of fresh air more.
After a couple of postures, Randee, Tony’s partner, picked her way through the bodies toward me, and closed the window. She’s such a purist, such a keener, that girl. And her two months post-partum, too! Maybe baby-brain is making her crazy. It happens.
Tony seemed to think so, because a few minutes later, he returned, opened the window, and it stayed open the rest of the class. Over the bodies between us, Randee gave me a wry smile as if to say, “Husbands, they think they know everything.” I shrugged, smiling back, but if she’d have tried to close that window again, I’d have taken her out.
And that’s how I survived my second class of the day. By the miracle of an open window. And a touch of marital discord.
Day 47 Well, I did it…
… and my Bikram yoga journey continues.
I took it a little easier at the 9:30 am class, so that I’d have some juice left for 7:30 pm Master Class with Ida Ripley tonight. Turns out that, while some things, like scoops, shots and Bubble, are good doubled, other things, like chins, bets and trouble, are not.
I don’t have enough juice for a double-class day.
With 37 participants, the hot room was channeling Hell, and all I could think of was, “I paid $25 for this.”
But I made it through to the end. And before I write one single more thing about my double-yoga-day, I’m going to bed. I’ve earned it and I need it.
Oy.
Day 46 The Next Level?
A young woman named Ida Ripley is coming to our Bikram yoga studio this weekend to run a Master Class on Friday and a Posture Clinic on Saturday. I was toying with the idea of doing Friday’s Master Class, but am a little intimidated. The instructors are all a-twitter. After all, “the only thing more fun than 90 minutes of yoga is 120 or 150 or 180 minutes of yoga – huzzah!”
Me, I’m skeptical.
But weirdly intrigued, too. Plus, while I’d like to feel a certain social superiority to a group for whom this is the epitome of fun on a Friday night, I’m usually in flannel, with a converter in my hand, by 7:30 pm, so that won’t fly.
Apparently Ida is not only a world-class yoga competitor, with freakish flexibility – here, take a look:
but she’s supposed to be a good teacher, too. So I’ll see how I’m feeling tomorrow and make a game-time decision. I’d like to get more input on improving my postures, so I can take my practice to the next level …
… but I have to say, I’m more than a little afraid.
Stay tuned!
And in case you’re interested in watching her winning performance at the 2009 International Yoga Asana Championships… I think she may be a new species…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhdTOda6dDY]