"Namaste," she said with a gentle bow. "Welcome to Monday night yoga at Simply Well. I'm so glad you're all here. This is a no-judgment zone, so don’t push yourself beyond..."
I stopped listening, my gaze shifting to Tallulah. She casually scanned the room and did a double take when she saw me.
Her mouth opened slightly, and I watched her expression shift from surprise to confusion to what could only be describedas pleasure. I gave her a small nod, and she slowly smiled, nodding back.
Just like that, my uncertainty about coming disappeared. Tallulah Washington smiled at me.
I had made the right decision.
Now I was going to attempt an activity I had never done before. Yoga. Because I couldn't stay away from her.
"We're going to start with child's pose tonight," Julie was saying.
I had no idea what that was, but I watched as she changed position to sit back on her heels and folded forward, resting her head on the floor, arms outstretched.
I followed suit, listening to Julie's soothing voice as she encouraged us to relax and instructed us on how to breathe.
I slowed down mentally, and my muscles loosened as I relaxed into the pose.
This wasn't so bad.
I could handle an hour of yoga.
Chapter 24
Jamison
Ihad made a terrible mistake and realized too late. Forty minutes into my first and likely last yoga class, I was bent forward trying to touch my toes without looking like a complete idiot.
Spoiler alert: I was failing badly.
"Great job, class," Julie said from the front of the studio. "Hold the position."
She was demonstrating a pose called uttanasana... ucanabana... something or other. Whatever the name, it was a standing forward bend, and she did it with the ease of someone whose spine and joints were made of jelly.
"Let your head hang heavy, relax your neck, and breathe into the stretch," she continued in her soothing voice.
Breathe into the stretch. Right.
With my head dangling upside down, I looked around the room and was impressed by the form of the other students. Tallulah was folded in half, the ends of her ponytail brushing her yoga mat. I couldn't see her face, but she seemed comfortable and completely at home in her body. Most of the others wore serene expressions with their hands flat on the floor, an impressive feat. The woman to my left had gone into anadvanced version of the pose by wrapping her arms between and behind her legs. Meanwhile, I could barely get the tips of my fingers to touch the mat.
My competitive spirit kicked in.
I went to the gym regularly. I was physically fit and not on any prescription medication. I refused to allow a simple forward bend to defeat me.
I sucked in my belly and moved deeper into the stretch. My hamstrings protested the unfamiliar position, but I ignored the warning. Each week I ran five miles on the treadmill. I had played soccer on a rec team in college. No way was a simple forward bend going to break me.
"Remember," Julie said, walking between the mats. "Don't compare yourself to anyone else."
Too late.
"Stay in your comfort zone and breathe."
I wasn't sure where my comfort zone was located, and breathing proved difficult as I tried not to grunt like a bear lifting weights in the forest.
I challenged myself to go deeper, and that's when a sharp, painful tug lanced through my left hamstring.
"Ah!" The sound escaped before I could stop it. Part gasp, part cry. Definitely a sound that didn't belong in the calm tranquility of a yoga studio.
