This week I’m going to renew my yoga membership at a studio downtown. I have very much missed the peace and relaxation I feel after a good practice, and getting out of the house for some real instruction and the energy of a class is, I think, just what I need right now.
I realize yoga is pretty “trendy” and yet I don’t much care. I have been practicing on and off since 1999, when a yoga instructor came to our office gym and showed us the ins and outs of ardho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog). I loved it then, and I love it now, and I’m never fully sure why I let life get in the way of a regular practice.
I used to practice at home, when our living room was in one piece, and Ron and Len would inevitably practice with me. They were intrigued by whatever it was I was doing on the mat, and they’d nudge my arms and legs as I moved through the primary series. Sometimes, I’d move to the top of the mat only to discover a Dalmatian had taken up residence there, and was watching me with keenly curious brown eyes. Ron always thought downward-facing dog was an invitation to play, and sometimes my practice would dissolve into an impromptu game. Savasana (the corpse pose, or, as one guy at the gym called it the other week, “that nap at the end”) was not so much restful as an attempt to not be licked to death.
I’ve been poking around on the Yoga Journal Web site this weekend, and I stumbled across this article. I knew I wasn’t alone when my little mates tried to get involved in my practice, but I had no idea someone had taken it to a new level and started classes for people and pets, too. While part of me thinks it’s hilarious (and there’s no way I could ever have wrangled our two to a class), another part of me thinks it’s a brilliant idea. I mean, why not? Dogs truly are yogis, as the article says.
I wonder if I get Animal Planet. The only flaw I can see in it is Len’s tendency to bolt if I make any sudden moves. Still, I bet she’d go for the massage.
As if she isn’t spoiled enough.