Namaste (Chris)

[Anjali Kedar]

"On your next exhale, bring you elbow down to your thigh and stretch your left arm uuuup and over your head."  Anjali demonstrated in the front of the group, her voice calm and only loud enough for the group in front of her to hear.  She only had about seven people in her class today, but the attendance didn't matter.  If anything, she preferred a small class size.  It left her able to easily help those who needed a little extra guidance.  "Remember, even, steady breaths ladies."  It had been a while since a man had joined her class, but she didn't really care who was there as long as they got what they wanted from the workout.  "Alright, slowly rise up to warrior two.  Now circle your arms to the front of your mat and while exhaling step back into high plank and lower yourself to the earth."  She breathed steadily as she lowered her own body, looking out to the small sea of people in front of her.  "Excellent." She complimented no one in particular as she took a slow deep breath, winding down the class.  "Inhale, upward facing dog.  Exhale downward facing dog."

She slowly took the group through the winding down process of her workout, finally bringing them into shavasana.  "Close your eyes, take a slow, deep breath, fill your lungs.  Now slowly exhale, releasing all of the negative energy with your breath.  Release it from your neck.. now your shoulders.. down your spine and through your arms all the way down to your fingers.  Release from your stomach, your hips, dooown your legs and finally your toes."  She herself got up from her spot on the floor, picking up the small bottle of oil next to her mat.  She went down to each person, knealing at their head and gently massaging some of the sandalwood scented essential oil into their forehead, down to their temple and finally at their neck, helping to relax them.  A small group made this part of her session go a lot quicker, not that she liked rushing everyone during shavasana, which to her was probably the most important part of any yoga workout.  "Slowly inhale." She instructed, doing so herself, her voice gentle and low.  

"Now exhale."  The soft music aided in the relaxation process as Anjali found herself back in front of the room.  "When you are ready you may get up.  Don't rush yourself, take all the time you need.  Namaste."  It was her way of signifying the end of class and she knelt down at her mat, slowly rolling it up.  Everyone in the class got up at their leisure, doing the same as Anjali packed away her things.  It wasn't a lucrative gig, but if she was going to be doing yoga, she may as well get paid for it.  It was a labor of love more than anything. 

[Chris Rossi]

Chris was not really the yoga sort of girl typically.

Granted, that was because she was more the type to play tackle football or a pickup game of basketball with the guys. But she needed a change in her life, so here she was. More importantly, she needed some relaxation. Her ex had tried to teach her meditation, but it had never really stuck. She was just an active person and so sitting still and emptying her mind wasn't exactly effective.

So she thought yoga might be physical enough to keep her mind from wandering.

Now that she was here, Chris could certainly say that yoga was physically demanding. More so than she initially had expected in fact. Especially considering a fair percent of yoga revolved around flexibility. Chris had a very athletic build and she was definitely in shape... but she was all muscle and the sports she typically was involved in didn't really require her to move in these sort of ways. Apparently she needed to limber up.

Honestly, she found the instructor's voice to be the most relaxing thing about the experience as learning all the positions and duplicating them was proving to be a bit more difficult than she had anticipated.

Namaste. Finally class was over. Chris was a bit slower than the others before beginning to pack up her things. She didn't rush though, moving at a leisurely pace. It was a good workout but she still felt quite relaxed. Most everyone else had left so she found herself glancing over at the instructor. "Thanks for the class. I hope I wasn't too distracting. I know I'm not a particularly graceful person," she said with a soft laugh and shrug of her shoulders.

[Anjali Kedar]

Her students were leaving one by one and Anjali was packing away her things.  She'd learned the hard way that you close essential oils properly and then put them in not one, but two ziplocks in case she accidentally left one open.  Her bag still smelled, but fortunately it was a good smell.  Well, at least in small doses.  It had been potent for months.  Now the oils simply lingered and it was really more pleasant than anything else.

She was down to her last student, a woman around her age, maybe a bit older.  She offered a smile at her words of thanks and then laughed a little about her lack of grace.  "You did better than you think."  She clipped her water bottle to her bag and got to her feet to better talk to the other girl.  "But if it makes you feel any better I've seen a lot worse."  She laughed, recalling some of the worse students she'd had.  She never judged them, though.  You had to start somewhere, and yoga was a good way to find inner peace and build core strength.

"I've been doing classes here for almost a year now.  I don't think I've seen you before."  Her arms folded low over her torso, her head cocking ever so slightly to the side.  "What made you take up yoga?"  The girl was active, Anjali could tell that much, but she was right; grace wasn't exactly something she had a lot of.  Not yet, anyway.

[Chris Rossi]

Chris took the opportunity to take a long drink from her own water bottle, slowly cooling down as she absorbed the other's words. She also took the opportunity to study her a bit more. She looked to be around her own age, maybe even younger.

"Oh wow, that's a relief," she admitted with a lighthearted laugh. "Here I was thinking I had made a major fool of myself!" She had never been one to worry much what others thought, but no one exactly liked acting ridiculous after all.

She shook her head. "No, you'd be right. This was my first attempt. Of course, that was probably pretty obvious," she said as she slung her bag over her shoulder and stood to her feet, though she made no move to leave just yet. "Relaxation," she answered promptly. "My ex-girlfriend tried to get me into meditation, but it just never worked for me. I need to be active, you know? So I thought maybe yoga might be a better fit for me."

Chris chuckled slightly. "It's a lot tougher than it sounds, but I like the challenge. Not to mention apparently I have a lot to work on. It shouldn't really be a surprise though. I'm a total jock really." She brushed a stray hair from her face, still smiling. "This should be a nice change of pace for me, I think." Chris had always been one to enjoy trying new things, especially when it came to sports and such.

"What about you? What got you into yoga, I mean?"

[Anjali Kedar]

It was a little obvious that the girl was new, but not because she was terrible on the mat.  It was more a matter of stiffness.  Those new at yoga tended to lack the flexibility those around them have gained over time through practice.  When the woman mentioned her ex-girlfriend, her ears perked.  Anjali always had a certain amount of respect for women who had no problem coming out and being who they were.  She was envious of it, really.  She wanted to be with a woman.  She wanted to date, and not in the way her mother wanted her to which would be with men she had already approved of.  She wanted to date someone she wanted to actually date.  

Anjali felt more drawn to the girl just because of her sexuality, and not in an attracted way, but more of a comforted way.  "Yoga is excellent for those who want to relax and be active." She agreed, biting the inside of her lower lip as the girl continued.  

"My family's Hindu." She mused, a smile curving her lips as she gave a little laugh.  "I grew up doing a little yoga, though it wasn't until I was older that I actually understood some of what I was doing and really learned about it.  When I was about fifteen I got really interested in the practices of meditation.  I was learning a lot about who I was and who I wanted to be, and I needed to stay centered." She rolled her shoulders, "And I'm too lazy to go running, so.. There's that" She gave a little laugh bending over and grabbing her bag and mat, hoisting the bag over her shoulder before extending a hand.  "I'm Anjali." She introduced.  She'd told everyone her name in the beginning of her class, but this was a more formal way of introducing herself, since the girl had actually stayed to strike up a conversation.

[Chris Rossi]

Chris grinned as she agreed that yoga was a good choice. It was nice to have someone who actually knew what they were talking about agree with her. Honestly, though she had hoped she would enjoy it, a large part of her had expected not to. After all, meditation had been incredibly boring. She had thought yoga would prove to be much the same. Instead, she had been pleasantly surprised by just how much she liked it - even if she wasn't really good at it yet. Key word - yet.

"Oh, that makes sense," she said nodding. "Explains why you're so good at it. It just comes naturally to you." She smiled slightly. "It's always good when you find a passion for something you've been doing since you were a child." After all, that was how she had gotten into sports. She had begun just goofing off with her dad and brother, and then joining sports teams with Winter. She had just always stuck with it because she loved it. It didn't matter much the game - basketball, soccer, football, baseball, whatever. She just loved it.

"Well, if you ever change your mind and decide you want a running partner, just let me know. That's something I'm actually good at," she said with a laugh. Not that she really expected the instructor to ever take her up on that of course. Still.

Chris accepted the woman's offered hand, giving a small but firm shake. "I'm Chris," she replied. "It's great to meet you, Anjali." That was a name she wouldn't forget. It was unique, which made it memorable. Even more than that, talking like they were now, she couldn't help but think that perhaps they could be friends. It was odd really. Usually Chris was just one of the guys. That's how it had always been. She didn't really have girls as friends and yet... There was something about Anjali that she liked.

[Anjali Kedar]

The thought of wanting a running partner was distant to her.  Running was probably her least favorite thing.  She'd much rather sit and stretch and contort her body.  At least then she could still watch TV, which was something she usually did when just exercising.

"Likewise, Chris." She said the name to log it into her mind, willing herself not to forget the name that went with that face.  She tended to be a bit on the forgetful side, but some things just stuck with her sometimes.  And other times they just did not.  "And if you ever decide you'd like to learn to meditate properly, you let me know." There was a mischievous twinkle in her eye as her lips spread into a wide smile.  "I promise, if you do it right it's really actually relaxing.  You have to sort of.. set the mood, yah know."  She shrugged a little and nodded towards the door.  "So will I see you at my next class?" She asked a little hopefully, liking that she was meeting some of those she was teaching.  She'd make a terrible teacher, wanting to be friends with all the kids in her class.  Plus, she'd probably be too busy playing games instead of actually teaching them.  "That's not too forward, right? Cause, if you didn't want to come, I mean it wouldn't bother me.  Just.. making conversation."  She looked away a little bashfully, still smiling but less enthusiastically.  She didn't want to guilt Chris into coming back.

[Chris Rossi]

Chris laughed at her offer about learning meditation properly. "You know, you might be on to something there," she said. After all, Hope had always been quite the distraction for her. Maybe that was why in their attempts at meditation Chris's mind was always wandering. That and because she had only tried it back then to make Hope happy. Doing it for someone else and doing it for yourself were definitely two very different things. "I just might have to take you up on that someday."

She stifled the urge to laugh again as Anjali quickly began babbling after her initial question. "Right, making conversation," she repeated teasingly, though not unkindly. It was rather sweet actually. "No need to worry, Anjali, I don't think you'll get rid of me that easily. After all, seems I have a lot left to learn," she said with a smirk. "Maybe after some practice I'll manage to get at least half as flexible as you."

[Anjali Kedar]

She couldn't help her smile widening at the way Chris teased her.  She liked this girl and she could see herself becoming friendlier.  If she saw her again.  She hoped she would.  "You really do have a lot to learn if you want to get that flexible." She gave Chris a wink realizing she probably sounded a little cocky and then wrinkled her nose.  "God, I sound like an asshole." She mused with a laugh before shaking her head and nodding towards the door.  "I guess I should go before I dig my hole deeper."

[Chris Rossi]

Chris laughed both at Anjali's playful jibe and then even more at her conclusion that she sounded like an asshole. "Nah, there's nothing wrong with confidence," she said reassuringly. "We all have our talents after all. At least you know yours. Who knows, maybe someday you'll get to learn some of mine," she said winking back at her. She was enjoying their little exchange and quite honestly, she didn't quite want it to end.

"Besides, like I said before, I do like a challenge, so don't think I'm gonna back down. Just you watch." She couldn't help but chuckle a little at how cocky she sounded just then, but then again, she rather was a bit cocky, especially when it came to her athleticism.

[Anjali Kedar]

Confidence. Anjali smiled and gave a nod.  Confidence was definitely something she had when it came to yoga, among some other things, though there was still plenty in her life she wasn't very confident about.  "I'd like to see some of your talents." She offered back, feeling her cheeks warm.  That sounded like a weird thing to say.  Was it?  She was about to defend her statement, but no words came.  She'd sounded like a big enough idiot as it was. 

"Well, challenge accepted.  We'll turn you into the human pretzel in no time." She teased with a wink, heading towards the door.  "And if you ever need extra help, I'm always around.  I don't charge for lessons usually."  She had never charged anyone for a lesson, though she knew she could.  That wasn't her style.  She opened the door for Chris, flipping the switch on the doorknob from the inside to lock it once they'd both left.