Yoga Bully

Day 28, Hour 22 of 120 Hours of Yoga

I attended yoga twice today: 6am and 6pm. This is the second time that I've done 2 classes in one day and I like the challenge. Because this is a hot-yoga studio, I'm careful to drink a ton of water, especially on the days that I practice twice.

The studio has an app that allows you to schedule classes from your phone, and check-in to class up to 30 minutes before class starts. "Contactless check-in" helps things flow more smoothly especially when a lot of people are coming in for class at the same time, where the lobby can get a bit congested as people wait in line to check-in at the front desk.  I installed the app and have used it to check in the last few days.

As I approached the building for the evening class, about 25 minutes before class started, I opened the app on my phone and checked-in.  The studio is now allowing students to enter almost 30 minutes early, up from the recent 15, as long as the cleaning from the previous class is complete. I like getting there early to set up and work on mobility and enjoy the quiet, hot space, waiting for class to start. As I walked into the building I saw Ryann sitting behind the desk. Some feelings swirled around as I had not seen her since my Day 1 Hour 1 of yoga (see my first post for more background info). She didn't say hello, but within a few short moments I ran into Austin. Austin was my instructor at the 6am class earlier today. He seemed authenically happy to see me twice in one day, and we bantered a little bit about my 120 hour yoga challenge, and his teaching schedule over the upcoming long holiday weekend. Austin would be teaching the 6pm class too.

The studio was being cleaned when I arrived, and so I sat on a lounge chair in a small sitting space until it was ready. Within a few minutes, one of the staff let me know that the studio was ready to enter, but asked that I hold on a second. She popped her head into the studio and spoke with someone inside briefly, and then turned back to me. "Ryann is in there practicing her yoga, but she says it's OK if you go in." I thought to myself, am I understanding this correctly? The studio is cleaned and prepped, and students are arriving ready to enter, but Ryann is inside practicing her yoga alone and this staff person needed to get permission from Ryann for students to enter the space? I sat for a minute pondering what to do. I contemplated waiting for someone else to go in first. But then I stood up and opened the door part way to peek in. There was Ryann, alone in the room, in middle of the front row just a breath away from the mirror, her arms flowing up and down. She glanced my way, and feeling like I was imposing, I closed the door and sat back in the lounge chair.  

After a few other students entered the room, I went in and placed my towel in the back left corner. The obscure corner that I had started this challenge in, but had recently worked my way out of. Ryann was still in the front, in child's pose or something. I put my towel down and lay there trying to quiet my mind and just breathe. My flip flops came to mind, and I was pacified knowing they were waiting for me just 10 steps beyond the studio door. 

So let me explain something about this far back left obscure corner. I'm fairly certain there are a handful of students who hope to secure this spot on a regular basis. There is a comfort to it, in a way. In a room full of people, it's the one spot where you can feel somewhat alone. As I've moved to a different part of the room recently, I've noticed one woman who always takes that back left corner. I get the feeling she covets that corner. Like the kid that walks into the lunchroom and others just know to move if they are sitting in that kid's spot.  Well that corner is "her spot", clearly. 

As I lay in that corner, not paying any attention to who was coming into class that evening, I felt churned up from seeing Ryann at the front desk, my experience with her at my first class, and the weirdness that played out while she practiced alone in the studio.  I could tell by the sounds of people coming into the room that it would be more full than usual. I lay there and breathed. And then "BAM!" Someone dropped their mat from significant height - enough to cause a sound of a sharp slap as the mat hit the cork floor, and push a whoosh of air towards me - in the spot directly above my head. I pressed my fingers to my temples, and under my breath and under my mask, whispered, "Jesus Christ."

"Was that for me?" she said loudly and defiantly? I knew immediately that it was her. The woman who covets the corner space I was lying in. Feeling shocked that she had heard me, and then second-guessing if she was even talking to me or if it was pure irony that I had whispered "Jesus Christ" and she had immediately blurted out "Was that for me?", I stayed quiet. I didn't say a thing. I held my breath. I pretended I had not said anything. And she stormed off to the other side of the room saying under her breath, "I don't need this."

I was in her spot, and she was not happy about it.  Class started, the lights came on, Austin led us through our movements.  As we progressed from beginning shavasna to downward facing dog, to standing poses, I glanced towards the middle space in the front of the room. Ryann was gone. I spent the rest of class thinking about what rhymes with "Jesus Christ": "geez twice", "jeeps are nice", as if I might need a rhyming alibi. In the end it wasn't needed.