I retired from distance running not long following the birth of my son. Thank goodness for yoga. I mean it. One, it can be as challenging as you need it to be. Brandy, Ella, and I, along with about twenty-five other folks, recently attended a minute!!! The DJ arranged his sound and light equipment at the front of the yoga studio; as we all filed in and placed our mats on the floor, I felt like I had a little subwoofer in my chest.
I worried for a few minutes that the music would be too loud, but before long, the movements and the sound fused together in a way that connected all the senses. The music was so much a part of us and our movements that it seemed to both predict what we were doing and respond to it, simultaneously. I lost all track of time. It was a RAVE of relaxation, if you will.
How would I quiet my mind in a loud environment? Yoga is rhythmic. Breathing is rhythmic. Why not give those things a rhythmic soundtrack? The session started with multiple sun salutations and warrior poses, followed by balance work. If anyone needed help getting into a pose, she was right there. My favorite part was when the entire group formed a circle and held hands during Warrior III. I closed my eyes and let myself be carried away by the throbbing music. When I opened my eyes, the lights were dancing all over the room, and I saw faces in the ceiling.
First there was a lion. Then I saw a man with a beard, until the beard morphed into a baby, being held by its mother. To the left I saw a caricature of John Lennon, while a man and his cat sat over to the right. Brandy remarked that she had an out-of-clothing experience where she snapped out of her trance and thought she might be nakey⦠but then she checked and realized she did indeed still have pants on.
We really did lose track of time⦠and space. For the next hour we enjoyed chatting about the class, the DJ, and our lives, making this workout as much emotional and spiritual as it was physical.
