Old Moon Yoga

Quick here he comes, switch it to red.

“With that big festival on, there will be no where to park” Dawn says as we pull on to 8th street where the Yoga studio is located. It had been a quiet week on the Yoga front. Class attendance down for no obvious reason, other than it’s a full moon. Sorry that is the best I can come up with

Getting to my first Samaagama on time had been a challenge. Every light was against me on the way of course, that goes without saying. Somewhere in a master traffic control center, the Saturday evening shift is having fun. They plan the traffic light sequences to cause the most disruption to those of us in a rush. I feel like I am on the set of “The Italian Job (2)” as each light in front of me changes to red. We are already late, as I forgot the rug and we had to go back and get it. One more light now and it’s freeway all the way.

This evening hwy 280 is reduced to 2 lanes as they prepare to resurface the other two. Lanes which appear, to me, to be perfectly fine. Shouldn’t this crew really be one freeway over? Go check 101 guys, even the lunar rover has trouble on that one.

“How about I park there” I say pointing out the one free parking spot within a 10 block radius. It is right in front of the studio, our first break. Setting up is a breeze, but would anyone come?
The day had been hot, too hot to do anything. Fall out rate on acceptances for Yoga classes is worse than Hotel booking or airlines flights. There was no where to park. Apparently there is a flu bug going around. Oh and I hear a rattlesnake epidemic is also trapping people in their homes in many cities. All good stuff to soothe the ego if this turns into a disaster.

"Honey, we will have to stay home this evening"

The brave, the few, battled rattlesnakes, heat, parking, the flu and the entire night shift of San Mateo county traffic control to make the evening something special. Not only did we raise a tidy sum for the victims of San Bruno, everyone had a great time in the process.

It was not without its rocky start of course. “Can the music go any louder” a Samyama regular asks, “I’m giving it all she’s got captain, she can’t take any more or she’ll blow” I reply offering my best Star Trek impression. The sound system was wound up to maximum and the iPhone too. Weird though, it sounded louder when I tested it earlier this week. It was only later that I discovered there was one more click on the iPhone volume I could have used. Apparently the volume cannot be adjusted once the iPhone is secured in the docking station. Thanks Steve!

I'm giving you all shes got captain.

We have a wide range of abilities in the room ranging from;  Never done yoga before through, I have been learning for 4 weeks; To “OK my leg is behind my head and I am balancing on one hand, now what?”

There is something about the loud music and self practice that allows you to let go fully. I always get deeper in these sessions. So much so, I find it disappointing how “undeep” I am usually. How come it’s only when it’s pitch black that my best Yoga comes out?

People are singing to the music too. How cool is that? I must remember to throw in enough tracks that are familiar in future playlists.

When the music finally brings us into land, unprompted, we all migrate to the mat and sit eating the fruits by candle light. We discuss everything from the music to favorite poses and even favorite teachers, and why. We sat there for ages talking under the candlelight. Unbeknownst to me, a cleaning lady had arrived to tidy up after us. (Wendy keeps the studio looking in peak condition at all times) It reminded me of one of those film scenes where the couple is sitting in the restaurant long after the place has closed. Waiters desperately hover in the background waiting for them to leave, the couple oblivious. That was how great it was, at least for me.

I had decided to call the evening Samaagama not Samyama. There is already a well known event on the Peninsula called Samyama. It is orchestrated by a good friend of mine. Although this was not dis-similar it was not meant in anyway to compete, but rather find it’s own “oldmoonyoga” spin on the concept. Samyama “refers to the flowing of attention, awareness and energy in meditation that occurs so spontaneously and effortlessly as to be said to be nearly simultaneous.” (I found that quote on line ) Samaagama has a less lofty goal. It means a union, a gathering, a coming together, and that is exactly what happened.

How close to Samyama were we? Well I left the side door open to the studio we were in. At some point a colleague from my office came into the room dropped of a donation and left. None of us was aware of her presence at all.

Your best yoga is done to candlelight

Will we do it again? The group seemed keen, and so am I. I am not concerned about the numbers that turn up now. It’s not the quantity afterall, it’s the quality that counts . I see the gathering gradually expanding over time as people discover it’s magic. A little like Yoga classes themselves.

Many thanks to all of you that came last night. I am thinking that my next playlist could be exclusively Elton John. Plenty of singing opportunities there, what do you think? For those who could not make it, sorry no pictures, what happens at Samaagama stay at Samaagama!