Adventures in Community Center Yoga

I did yoga this morning. On the rare days I do exercise I prefer to attend the easiest of the yoga classes offered at our community center. However, this morning I opted to follow along with the video at home in my living room rather than braving the snow. Everything about the class at the community center is better though. One instructor always plays Enya, while a different instructor once exposed us to something like "Sounds of the Ocean". It was either recorded actually underwater or in a cave. There were definitely whale calls at one point (only slightly distracting). The class is held from 8:30-9:30am while most people are at work, so it's usually filled with women in their late 50's and 60's. It’s really humbling to see all the women who have 30+ years on me executing their Plows with such precision and ease while I’m straining and tipping over.

But the best moment in my class was when one of the participants was feeling a little gassy. We were lying on the floor with one leg tucked into our chest when, “eeerrrrrr.” Someone let out a little squeaker mid-pose. Apparently all the women are much more mature than I as it made me chuckle aloud. Not two minutes later, “eeerrrrrr,” again. This one really tickled me and my second giggle was a little louder. Now I was the one distracting the class with inappropriate noises.

A few weeks after that class I woke up feeling a little gassy myself. After a few hours of no relief from my usually reliable Pepto Bismol, I looked up some home remedies on the internet. Many sites suggested some yoga poses, so I tried them out. After working my way down the list, I found a familiar formation. I had done this pose week after week in class without ever hearing its name mentioned. Sure enough there it was in black and white, “Wind Relieving Pose”. This was the exact pose where my fellow yogi did indeed break wind. Who am I to giggle when her body was simply responding the way the pose had intended for it to.

No such luck for myself that morning with Wind Relieving Pose. I sucked down some more Pepto and waited it out.