I'm on a bit of a tighter budget for the time being, and "extra" expenses, like Studio Yoga classes, are out of the question right now. I'm lucky enough to belong to a gym, though, where I am usually quite happy to get my fill of classes. In fact, I have a week-off coming up, and I'm looking forward to challenging myself to squeeze in a class everyday, if possible! I sense a post coming up about that...
Anyway, the Saturday class I can get to is one that used to be taught by Diann - and regular readers know how I feel about Diann ♥ Her feet are tiny, but she has some big shoes to fill! The gal that's been filling them for a while now is Kathy, and she's good, but her voice has a bit of an eliteness to it as she's instructing, and can be a little off-putting. She does a great job of challenging the class, and while she does walk around the room as she instructs, she very rarely gives hands-on adjustments. Believe me, I know I need them now and again! She also has a "front-row crew" of yoginis who love to strut their stuff, and she doesn't mind pointing it out. Case in point: today we're in extended side-angle, she offers that those who can do so, have the option of "binding", and suddenly, she's talking about "Bird of Paradise - just look at the beautiful front row..." I come out of my bind to admire, and realize they're doing something that Heidi had us doing a few months ago in a Sunday class. I just didn't know it was called a bird of paradise...and Heidi gave a bit more instruction on how to get there! Thankfully I've been practicing for a while, otherwise, I'd might be intimidated.
There is one fellow classmate, though, who I wish WOULD get intimidated and not show up on a Saturday (or at least show up on the other side of the room)! She's being coming to the Saturday class for as long as I have, probably longer, and she is probably a more reliable attendee than I am (she who shows up once every 2 months...ahem...). But honestly, I don't know why she bothers. She's such a nut, and she inevitably ends up setting up her mat somewhere near mine so I have her, annoyingly, in my peripheral vision whenever I do a Saturday. I know she has every right to be there, and it's very un-zen of me to pick apart someone else who's just making her peace on the mat, but those of you who know me KNOW that I can't let something like this go without commentary...
What makes her so nutty? Oh, where do I begin? Is it the chatting with her buddy before class begins and all the way right up until the instructor starts? (Once she came with a guy (her son?) and they exchanged dialogue throughout class - not a single posture was left without comment between the two.) Perhaps it's the fact that she always is in need of a pedicure, cracked heels, chipped nailpolish and all. I'm not saying you need to sit in the chair, but come on, use a pumice in the shower once a week if you're going barefoot at the gym! It shouldn't be a big issue, but when you're that close to my mat, I don't want your ancient feet accidentally stepping on my mat.
Oh, I know, I'm being petty. I should be commenting on the fact that she doesn't even follow the postures that the instructor is giving. Kathy does give modifications to the postures...but when we're in down dog, and you're in side plank, I don't think that's what she's going for. We're in Chaturanga, you're doing some Warrior I modification. Times like these, I wish Kathy did come over and do a hands-on adjustment for this classmate. The coupe de grace? All the huffing and puffing she does, followed by sighing at inappropriate times/postures. Today, it happened twice. We were resting momentarily in child's pose, and she starts doing Lion's breath (3 sharp inhales, followed by a sighing exhale) WTF? At the end of practice, we're in Savasana, and she's audibly moaning with her exhales....like she exerted herself so much that she's completely and utterly done. Kathy worked us hard today (lilke I said, Holy Chaturanga! Like every other posture), but there's no need to moan about it. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention, and this lady's own improvised routine was a lot more acrobatic than our vinyasa, necessitating the sighs and moans over there.
Whatever the case, we can't control who is on the mat next to us any more than we can control the weather. What we can control is our response to it. My response, of course, is a childish derision of the person behind her back. In reality, making the situation humorous IS my way of dealing with it. Next time I'm in Saturday class, she'll be there, and I'll be ready for her. Who knows, maybe she writes her own blog and at this very moment is blogging about the annoying girl and her dirty yellow mat... (It's well-loved, lady. Well-loved)
"In truth, it matters less what we do in practice than how we do it and why we do it." - Donna Farhi
HEY, READERS! Don't forget to comment/follow on the YATS Giveaway post (below!). You only have until Wednesday to get your name entered in my drawing to win Seane Corn's Vinyasa Flow DVD! Good Luck!!
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