New year's yoga

Last night I took my first Iyengar yoga class. The room was small; the class was full. A pillar stood in the center of the studio.

The class began slowly. We sat and breathed. We chanted, three low oms before starting, and then began our first pose. My friend had warned me that it was difficult. She said the class wasn't fun, but that she felt it was something she should be doing. It wasn't a ringing endorsement, but I was curious.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the class. On some poses, I lost my balance, regaining it just as the instructor moved to the next pose. I vowed to practice at home. At times I wished the class moved slower, that the transitions between poses were more fluid; I suppose that comes with time and greater experience.

As we settled into our last pose, necks extended, back extended, shoulder blades tucked under, the instructor dimmed the lights. A man began to snore. I looked up and out through the window. Outside, it was dark. The lights of a nearby office flickered but stayed on. The windows cut parallelograms out from the sky.
Posted by eku at January 7, 2009 12:35 AM