Terry planned to go to a yoga class with Sarah Austin. Sarah was running late so Terry didn’t take the class. It was an oven in the place and she decided that she would rather go home and relax. Terry and I used to go to yoga together several years ago. At dinner, Terry asked if I would like to go to yoga again with her. I agreed.
Yoga Matrix (7601 Della Dr. Suite # 5 at Dr. Phillips Marketplace) is right in our neighborhood. We went to a Saturday morning Hatha Yoga class being taught by Edely. We entered the studio through a back door. People were crowded into the small office. More people arrived and crowded in. A Yoga class was winding down and they were in a quiet meditative state so we all remained silent. When the prior class let out, we shuffled in. There was square shelving for our shoes and socks just like in kindergarten. The room is kept at a comfortable 76 degrees.
Terry and I ended up placing our bright pink mats right in front of Edely who faced the full room of participants. Edely has an adorable accent that made me feel I was practicing some exotic ritual. “Yoga is about undoing, shacked out your legs until they are relaxed.” When we went from downward facing dog to a position where we sat back on our heels and leaned forward with our forehead on the mat and our hands spread above our head, my head started to swim. I was dizzy. I shook off the sensation as we went into warrior poses. Warrior poses involved keeping our arms extended as we reached towards opposite walls. In grade school, I remember this being a form of punishment as the teacher asked us to keep our hands extended until it hurt. My aching neck muscles tensed.
My favorite part of yoga is when we lie down and relax at the end. Edely asked us to imagine a point of bright white light inside our skull. All my muscles were “relaxed”. Calming music filled the room. Someones breathing deepened sounding like they were asleep. For the rest of the day, my shoulders and neck ached. I still don’t know if this is a good or bad sign.