Hot Yoga with a Wobbly Physique
The stretching takes a backseat; the practice lies in being mindful.
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Discounts are only effective if you take advantage of them. My 50-class hot yoga pass? Thirty sessions remain, with two months left before they expire.
What supports me isn’t strictness but a small ritual before class.
A box of Intention Cards is located at the entrance. Most participants walk past it, but I rest my hand on the deck, close my eyes, and select one. I wait to reveal the card until I’m on my mat.
Initially, I didn’t think much of it — except that during intense stretches, my gaze kept wandering back to the card. My thoughts oscillated between internal chatter and the aspiring yogi in me striving to stay grounded. The card became a grounding point, a gentle reminder.
After class, I rushed to the locker room and jotted down everything that crossed my mind. In the subsequent class, I brought my notebook.
Some view it as an interference — my partner does. He believes that insights will linger until class ends. I disregard this. Each breath ignites a thought, a realization, or a dialogue between my characters that I can’t afford to overlook. So, with moist hands, I take a moment, note a line, then immerse back into the pose we’ve already transitioned away from.
At one moment, I was present in the room, yet my thoughts wandered elsewhere — to a spa on a space station, conjured by the warmth, feeding a novella in progress. When the teacher raised her voice — likely directed at me — the daydream shattered.
After class, she asked if I was training to be an instructor. I first assumed she meant my poses. Either she was wrong, or perhaps I’m quite skilled and just overly critical of myself. Then, she gestured at my notebook.
The intention cards and the ideas they generate have turned into my primary motivation for returning. I acknowledge what’s unfolding: by concentrating on my breathing and the repetitive actions, I slip into a trance-like state that allows my creative intuition to surface amidst chaotic thoughts. I realize that these insights are also teeming with busy thoughts and essentially distractions from the practice of yoga.
Maybe one day I will consider my partner’s advice about trusting my memory for post-class notes. For now, the open notebook sits beside the intention card, waiting.
This is the first of many reflections from [*Hot Yoga with a Wobbly Physique*](https://jervnaimatrap.medium.com/list/hot-yoga-with-a-rickety-body-9059caa64099).