Yoga For Good

Donation classes are interesting. A lot of studios offer a class for which participants can give as much as they wish. They take the class and the money goes to charity. This forumla leads to a lot of moral rationalizing of how much can I give to get an almost free class without appearing to be cheap and by helping out people in need? Usually. Sometimes people give a lot. Sometimes people give a little. Sometimes people give nothing, assuming that no one will notice, and usually, no one does. Thankfully, not everyone gives nothing all at one time, otherwise, someone would notice that.

The studio I used to work for needed someone to teach the donation class, so I subbed once again. In exchange, I was able to take a class. That's fair. I don't expect to be paid for a charity class. The participants all gave something. They were lively and happy to be there. They were also sweating profusely.

The studio is on a second floor, over a bagel place. In the mornings especially, the aroma of fresh bagels comes up and through. Ooh, it's yummy. That night, there was no bagel aroma. Instead, there was musty air from the heat. I opened a window and turned on a fan. I wound up opening the other window, too. Heat is good in yoga, but people passing out is no good, so I found a happy medium.

I took a class in exchange a few days later. When I pulled in the lot, I put money in the meter because the time for meters began fifteen minutes before class ended. The meter did not register my quarter. I hate it when that happens. What exactly are you supposed to do? Write a note saying it's not working? Put in another quarter to see if it works with two? Put a bag over it? Seriously, I'd like to know.


After almost an hour and half, I was stretched out and slightly sore. The woman teaching the class used to take my class when I taught at the studio years ago. Since then, she took the teacher training and has been working there. She does a lot of seated stretches that are very easy for her and very difficult to me. It's just a different kind of yoga, which is why I like to go. It makes me do things I'm not very good at doing. She always says, and I agree, that I am so strong. I am. I can do power moves and hold them for quite some time. But ask me to open my legs wide on the floor and stick my arms under my thighs and push my chest to the floor and I look like a very uncomfortable octopus who is suffering from arthritis. Putting me in better spirits was the fact that I didn't get a ticket for the meter. That would have put a huge damper on a free class.