The White T-shirt Club

I made it to yoga at 6:30 this morning. It's really nice that when I leave at 6:22 it's actually a little light out now. That bluish-pinkish-dawn-ish light is very pretty. It used to be so odd to leave in the dark and come out at 7:30 when the sun was shining brightly (well, sometimes. Sometimes it was just gray.)

There were 3 other ladies there, and the teacher. All 4 of us students were dressed in the same yoga uniform: white tee shirts and black loose-fitting yoga pants. Actually, one woman had tighter pants on; they looked more like jogging pants. That's okay though, I thought; I won't kick her out of the club.

I do love white tee shirts. I like to wear them throughout the summer. They can be difficult to find though, with a good neck, sleeves, and fit. I can't just buy white hane's.

I felt like there was some gas in my tummy, if you want the truth. I was a little worried I might make an unfortunate sound in the middle of some crazy pose where I'm doing a shoulder stand and my legs are above me. I lucked out however; no such noise escaped me through the whole of class!

A "zip" (as my mother has always referred to it) did escape an older gentleman once. I felt badly for him. Luckily, we're all adults and there weren't any 13 year-olds snickering. Quite honestly, it is yoga. One must expect to fall off balance, zip, or have some other unfortunate incident occur at least once or twice.

As we stood in Mountain pose, with our eyes closed, ready to start the class, I was listening to the sounds around me. Outside the yoga room, there were folks already pumping iron listening to some rhythmic thumping music. The clash of weights hitting together rang out once or twice. A stream of bright fluorescent light was seeping under the door.

Inside the yoga room, there were 2 soft lamps on. I was listening to the music playing, still with my eyes closed. I imagined a pianist, clad of course, in a white t-shirt, and soft black pants, with a yoga mat strapped to his back. Next to him, there was a flutist, also in the same uniform. Around the two of them, little bluebirds were chirping and flying around quietly. The sound of a water fountain splashing and tinkling, sat atop the piano. I think the birds were perched on the side of the fountain when they were finished flying about.

My teacher's grainy voiced announced to fall forward into "forward standing bend." Her long black curly hair cascaded down to the floor, almost looking like a dark water fountain herself.

At first, my body groaned and creaked. I felt 20 years older than I am. Then I inhaled slowly, and exhaled, and stretched. I began to feel rooted and grounded as I breathed in and out. I could smell my new vanilla chai deodorant (which hubby said smells like watermelon-my least fav smell) and I felt a sense of peace. I concentrated on that feeling throughout class.

I peeked to where I imagined the pianist, flutist, birds and fountain to be and was almost surprised to simply see the stereo. I realized that a sense of peace, well-being, and health, make me feel positive and light. I felt clarity in my head and strength in my muscles. I felt so thankful for the day and my body for being able to bring me those feelings. It's very important for me to stop for a bit and remember this. I felt I had done something well this morning.

Namaste.