“Everyone lie back on your mats and tuck your knees into your chest. Wrap your arms around them and pull them against your chest. You may feel a gentle stretch in your back,” Chase explained. “Take a deep breath and close your eyes. Release your legs so they’re flat on the ground. Breathe deeply and imagine all of your worries and fears are escaping through your fingers and toes. If you need to, you can hold your buddy’s hand. Relax and enjoy the quiet.”
Chase usually kept his eyes closed when teaching an adult class and relaxed in corpse pose with everyone, but this time he kept them open and his head turned toward the kids, judging how long they could handle the quiet pose. They’d likely not last long enough to reap the full benefits, but parents probably enjoyed every second of peace they could get.
He thought the youngest kidwith the one other man in the class would squirm first, but Chase could have sworn he heard a quiet snore come from the little boy. A smile graced the face of the man lying next to him.
The soft music he’d been playing combined with the dimmed lights made for a relaxing atmosphere, so people often drifted off, but Chase didn’t expect it with kids.
After about a minute and a half, a girl around seven fidgeted on her mat and poked her mom’s arm to check if she’d fallen asleep, but the woman turned and smiled at her daughter. Chase took that as his cue to bring everyone out of the relaxing state.
With a soft voice, he said, “Start wiggling your fingers and toes to let them know it’s time to wake up. When you’re ready, you can slowly open your eyes. You all did a great job. I hope you enjoyed practicing yoga today.”
Slowly, both the kids and adults started sitting up on their mats. Soft conversation started between the pairs as they discussed the class. Chase heard nothing but positives from both the adults and kids, and he noticed a drop in everyone’s stress compared to when they’d first arrived.
As they stood, Chase directed them through cleaning their mats and helped the kids put theirs away.
Some of the parents escaped with their chattering kids while throwing Chase a smile and calling out thank yous.
A few approached him to rave about the new program, and he loved hearing their praise.
Josh helped organize the rest of the equipment as Chase turned off the music on the gym’s computer. The only other male participant walked over, his little buddy asleep on his shoulder. There was a strong resemblance between them, with matching auburn hair and freckles. They reminded Chase of Tobias and Madison, and he couldn’t help giving them a soft smile.
“I hope the class wasn’t too much for him,” Chase said, his gaze moving from the boy to his guardian.
“It was perfect,” the man said, his voice deep and husky. “Noah has never been so focused before. I think he really enjoyed it, so we’ll definitely be back.” The man extended his hand to Chase. “I’m Brody, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” Chase said, taking Brody’s hand and giving it a solid shake. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. That means a lot to me.”
“I was so excited when I found out the gym added this. It’s great being able to get a workout in without having to worry about daycare for Noah.”
Noah started to fidget on Brody’s shoulder, and Josh popped up next to Chase.
“His name is Noah? He’s so cute, and he did such a good job with the yoga,” Josh said as he extended his hand. “I’m Josh. I hope you’ll bring him back!”
Chase noticed the appraising gaze Brody threw Josh as he shook his hand, but Josh killed that interest in his next breath.
“My boyfriend and I have been coming here for years, and we were pumped when they hired Chase and added yoga.”
Brody nodded. “I’m glad I wasn’t the only guy in the class today, so thanks.”
“No problem. They said if I wanted to do it again though, I’d have to have a kid, so now I have to find someone who will let me borrow theirs. Riley and I aren’t ready for kids yet. Hey, if you ever need me to watch Noah and bring him to class, I’m here!”
Brody’s eyes widened as his gaze bounced between Josh and Chase. He focused on Chase and asked, “Should I be worried, or is Josh just extra friendly?”
Chase chuckled at Josh’s sudden look of confusion. “He’s just that friendly. You get used to him, though.”
That was enough for Brody, who laughed along with Chase.
Josh’s furrowed brows prompted Chase to fill him in. “Parents usually need to get to know someone first before they’re willing to let them watch their children.”
“Oh. Well, yeah that makes sense. We should be friends first,” Josh said. “We should ask Tobias to let Brody come to our early class.”
“Earlier than this?” Brody asked, since they’d justcompleted a nine a.m. session.
“Yeah, it’s at six,” Josh said.
“Six? That might be too early for my schedule. I’m a physical therapist,” he said. “I didn’t see that on the website. Is it invite only? Who’s Tobias?”
“I am,” a deep voice said from behind them, making Chase jump. He hadn’t heard Tobias sneak up on them.
