double dipping

yes, i admit it. i'm guilty. guilty of double-dipping.

no, i didn't dip twice into the salsa bowl at a weekend bbq. nor did i order up a double dose of phish food at the local ben and jerry's (which would be just perfect in this heat wave we're having). i guess i had enough time to catch a double feature at a movie theater, but i didn't do that, either.

i, the compulsive yogist, double-dipped at sacred movement this morning.

it started when i took saul david raye's 9am class. it seemed like a great idea -- saul's class on a labor day holiday morning. people would either be out of town or sleeping in. or getting ready for their own backyard bbq's. either way, i expected the room to be less packed than usual.

but when i reached the studio 20 minutes before his class was to start, there already was a large group of mat-toting yogis standing outside, waiting for the staff to unlock the front door. once the doors opened, there was a mad dash for the sign-in sheet and the asana room.

i found a nice spot for myself at the back of the room, right by the door, and watched as the students streamed in. and they kept coming. and coming. and even as saul was leading us through our opening meditation, people continued to enter the room. by the time we were all settled down, all the floor space was taken up with yoga mats, with some even oriented sideways to take up whatever room was available.

so much for light attendance. do we love saul, or what?

who couldn't love the high that comes from the slow, meditative flow of his class? the heat that's generated by the careful and deliberate movement through the poses? and the peacefulness that results from chanting while being guided by the chords from his harmonium?

and it must have been that sense of bliss when his class was over that made me decide to stay right where i was and take the class with the next teacher, shiva rea.

yes, i wanted more. more slow flow. more chanting. more sweat. more bliss.

after all, i had nothing else planned for the day. and my car was parked happily outside under a shade tree, with no parking restriction requiring me to move it any time soon.

so as i stood on my mat, trying to catch the cool air that started flowing in from the opened door, i watched the saul junkies walk out one door and the shiva groupies walk in the other.

once everyone was settled down, we were off and vinyasa flowing.

with shiva, it's all about mudras, mantras, and mandalas (for those not into the lingo, that's hand gestures, sacred recitation, and circular movement). hers is a demanding class that requires experience gleaned from a regular practice: flexibility, balance, stamina, not to mention a familiarity with the sanskrit pose names. but with the challenge comes an equal reward -- the feeling that you've touched every muscle in your body, every thought in your head, and every emotion in your heart.

and in my case this morning, the feeling that i'd poured sweat out of every pore in my body. again.

while resting in my second savasana of the day, i honestly considered staying for yet a third class. until i realized that my moisture-wicking duo dry clothing had reached its limit and my yogitoes towel was quickly approaching its own saturation point. so out of respect for the next student who would be practicing beside me, i decided to call it quits; two would have to be enough.

besides, those twin scoops of ice cream were beginning to sound pretty inviting :)