Had my first ever crack at yoga tonight. It’s a bit out of character; I am a bit of a cynic about new agey stuff. And having a quick beer and a cigarette after work probably wasn’t the best way to prepare. But even though I giggled through the crash course in Ashtanga history and struggled gracelessly with the poses, I did enjoy the physical intensity of it – the awareness of all these bits of my body I’d rather forgotten about. I think what I’ll enjoy most about the course will be the random names for everything – planks and bandhas and stretching cats and downward dogs…
Afterward I felt stretched and warm and all my muscles were humming. Now they’re mumbling quietly, a hint of the groaning I expect they’ll do tomorrow. But for now I have the new New Pornographers album and I know heavy sleep isn’t far away…
And, can I just say, when this rain clears as it’s supposed to on Wednesday, I am damn well going to salute the sun. Probably not using yoga though.
Clare Fletcher 