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I
showed up with a comfy pair of sweatpants and a long- sleeved t-shirt.
As the woman at the desk was giving me a little orientation
information - explaining that the room was heated to about 100 degrees
Fahrenheit - I realized that my concept of yoga clothes weren't going
to work here. Apparently, I wasn't the first to make this error. Susie
told me they had loaners. Now, it's been a while since the last time I
wore hot-pants, so when she handed me the little scrap of shorts, I
thought, "No way." She said, "Trust me, you'll fit right in."
Susie continued, giving a few more orientation tips, which started to
seem like a set of warnings. "Our first-time students are encouraged
to rest whenever you feel you should - kind of take it gradually. The
instructors just ask that you do your best to stay in the room for the
entire time." What? Were we still talking yoga here? I'd seen
pictures. Sure, I might not be able to balance on one leg while
holding the other one over my head at my first try, but come on. How
hard could it be to stretch as far as I could go and stop there? Why
would I get desperate to leave the room?
Her next suggestion: "OK, I see you
brought a bottle of water. That's good, but you'll be tempted to drink
a lot, and I recommend you just drink sips - not too much at a time."
Hmm. What was I getting into here? It sounded like I was facing some
kind of ordeal - not what I had in mind at all since I was thinking of
yoga as a peaceful, low- impact way just to stretch and keep my aging
body flexible and strong.
Once I was dressed in the little bit of
shorts, I opened the door to the yoga studio and was met with a rush
of hot, stultifying air. Oh goody. I walked to an open space, spread
my mat, lay on my back, and understood exactly what she meant by
asking me to at least stay in the room. I was already dripping sweat,
and we hadn't even begun the class.
Ninety minutes and twice through the 26
poses later, I was indeed still in the room. In the non-competitive,
supportive atmosphere I had been completely guided to go to my edge,
but not so far that I would be turned off by struggle. In fact, I was
exhilarated. I lay on my back at the end, eyes closed in the peaceful,
very hot room, and knew I'd be back for more.
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