Energy Vampire

That’s what I’ve been "reduced" to. After having paid for the tuition fees of my two pre-schoolers I made a majorly unplanned investment which left me no choice but to economise on some expenses including yoga classes.

It has turned out to be a very wise decision though since I have been doing yoga with practitioners who live close by, thus cutting back on attendant costs like petrol, parking and the end of season sales (I am also a sucker for those) beckoning at the mall adjacent to the shala where I used to practise.

So here I am, practising here and there, with friends whose yoga skills are way ahead of my time, and I am LOVING it. A little guilt-stricken, feeding off their energies, getting that Ashtanga high back from practising with them which seems to be working alright for me as the pain on my right knee is completely gone. Don’t know if this can be attributed to practice with them but it sure coincided.

Sometimes I have no wall to practise my backbends, other times I have to make my own adjustments for problem poses. But again it has been good over all because practice has become more, shall I say, introspective (for lack of a better word).

Certainly it has been interesting, to say the least. I have shared space with people of all ages—from college students to college professors. I’ve practised with New Age and Christian music playing in the background, and the scent of patchouli or the smell of cat poop wafting through the air. I have stared at the portrait of an Aikido master to find my center (it helps!) and watched felines graze on a fellow yogin's mat towel during savasana. I've had to wipe clean the floor I practiced on, which I am not complaining about mind you. Made me realise that it's the least that I should do for the people who would use the space next. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I would mop the floor if they asked me to.

I'm utterly grateful to the yogis/yogins for sharing their energies and sending all those good vibrations. Om.