Yoga denied

Finding grace in spite of it

Have you ever gone to a yoga class and been denied entrance? There is a special feeling of being let down that comes with this particular rejection. Most of us who do yoga are very excited to get to class. We have to make time in the day and travel to its location. Maybe we feel the need to iron out our emotional kinks during that precious class-time with yoga’s gentle but firm working of the body that allows our mind to relax.

Accepting what is

Maybe we really need our yoga class that day. But today it is not meant to be. I experienced this feeling just now. The Monday noon class at the North Boulder Rec Center has gotten soooo popular that you need to come early just to get a spot. They close the registration after they’ve reached capacity. This offends my naive democratic sensibility that yoga is for everyone and everyone should be admitted. However, my more informed sense of democracy understands the “first come, first served” rule and that a mat-to-mat class is not okay for a large room at the local rec center; there are fire codes to be upheld.

Usually, I would become incensed upon hearing this news at the registration desk and even let the registrar know how I felt, but today I had a different perspective. Today, instead of it being a given that I would participate in the noon yoga class, I had something to do that was likely to prevent me from attending. It was a pleasant surprise that I was able to go, and I showed up just a minute late. Some yoga centers do not even allow admittance after the start of class, no matter what your story is about how you came to be late and what it took to get there. Lucky for me, the rec center doesn’t have that policy.  ; )

Attitude = View

Only because it was a last minute surprise to be able to attend, my attitude, or view, about attending this particular yoga class was open and positive, and I had very little attachment to it. But attitude can change in a heartbeat and turn negative when reality stands in the way of something you desire. I was conscious of that for just a moment as I stood and talked to the lady at the front desk. That moment of consciousness allowed me to remain open and positive despite my denial.