Day 48 When God Opens a Window

Actually, it wasn’t God, it was Tony, one of the owners of the studio, but it was a little miracle, nonetheless.

It was a very full room, as I believe I’ve mentioned. Lots of bodies. Lots of big, hard bodies. The kind that produce their own heat. Real estate was at a premium, but I managed to snag a spot in the corner, at the bottom, near the windows. There’s something psychologically helpful about seeing fresh air and water, even if you can’t get at it.

Ida Ripley is gorgeous, cheerful and yes, a good instructor. She used a few people for demonstrations, identifying subtle movements that make big differences in how the postures work. That was all good.

But it was really hot, hotter than usual, in that room.

After about the fourth or fifth posture, I was getting into trouble. I’d drunk most of my water already, and was feeling not great. I made it through the standing series, and was lying down in savasana, looking at the scant half-cup left in my bottle, wondering how I’d make it last, when a shadow loomed over me.

Tony, red-faced and dripping, reaching for the window. He pulled it open an inch and instantly, I felt a cool breeze float over me. I guess I wasn’t the only person feeling a little desperate. I’ve never enjoyed the tickle of fresh air more.

After a couple of postures, Randee, Tony’s partner, picked her way through the bodies toward me, and closed the window. She’s such a purist, such a keener, that girl. And her two months post-partum, too! Maybe baby-brain is making her crazy. It happens.

Tony seemed to think so, because a few minutes later, he returned, opened the window, and it stayed open the rest of the class. Over the bodies between us, Randee gave me a wry smile as if to say, “Husbands, they think they know everything.” I shrugged, smiling back, but if she’d have tried to close that window again, I’d have taken her out.

And that’s how I survived my second class of the day. By the miracle of an open window. And a touch of marital discord.