Victorious Breath Day

Today marks the beginning of a new year in my life. The only thing that I planned to do was roll out of the bed and attend Gloria’s 9 a.m. yoga class; everything else was gravy.


We had perfect music at the perfect volume for class. A new pose for me was dragon and I totally felt like one while striking that pose. I didn’t, however, have the wherewithal to be a fire-breathing dragon. Maybe next time.

There was a guy in class that I tweeted about. I called him a champion breather and Cindy tweeted back that no wonder I had a champ in class because Ujjayi breathing translates to victorious breath. I can believe that since I often feel victorious after practicing yoga...

Gloria usually starts her class with that mantra …may all beings be happy and free and she often reads a poem during savasana. She also ends class with a mantra; I never catch all of it but today I caught: may you experience the warmth of love...

From my uncle who texted me at 5:47 a.m. to my friends and family that joined me for a dinner organized at the last minute, I did feel all kinds of warmth. And, bonus, my aunts and mother found something to their liking at the cafe that I chose even though they looked over the menus for a really long time...

You Know What They Say About Hip Openers

It was a Jeremy-free yoga session and Cindy was the captain of the ship. Actually, she reminded me of a flight attendant:

Legs in the upright position. Feet as if they're walking on the ceiling. Arms parallel to feet and we're here for five, four, three, two, one...Halfway down for five, four, three, two, one...two inches above the floor for five, four, three, two, one...exhale and bring your knees to your chest. Inhale...arms above head. Exhale with two breaths, touch your toes and spin back around.

Cindy was her usual on point self urging us to clear our minds. She made me laugh during cobra when she told us everything off the ground except for hips unless we were good at levitating.

Despite the good advice, I felt like I was going through the motions in class and never got in touch with Ujjayi breathing. And, yes, I write stuff like that now. After 90 minutes of yoga, my mood turned pissy. Maybe it's hormones, the hip openers or both.

Before savasana started, Cindy told us to take a moment and appreciate what our bodies had done. Maybe I was too tired to move or too tired to notice but there were only two people in the room when I finally emerged from savasana. Perhaps another round of savasana is in order...