Caitlyn SlivinskiMY legs are shaking. A flash of heat hits my core, crawling up my neck. I tear my scarf away; ten more seconds… five… three, two, one. Phew! I stand up out of my “chair” yoga pose I had just held for a healthy minute.
Stretching my legs in the dark stairwell of my workplace, I exit out of the stopwatch mode on my cell phone and check the time. It’s half past. I guess my student is a no-show. I won’t be teaching this hour. And yes, I am at work.
Knowing my laptop sits neglected in my bag in the classroom, I consider grabbing it and going to Starbucks next door for use of the internet. I remember past experiences using the wi-fi there as being painfully slow and decide to stay put and continue my fitness.
Trying to prevent arthritis, I stretch and do some exercises every chance I get. If this means doing pushups in the corridor at work, so be it. When you don’t have the freedom or space to do the more emphatic poses, do meditation and stationary muscle flexing for an equally beneficial effect. Utilizing the empty school stairwell, I engaged in a plank for abs, lunges, and triceps dips before yoga’s downward dog.
I was doing fine until I had to get fancy.
I can think of a better yoga outfit than a skirt, tights, and tall leather boots from Zara. The lack of traction on the soles of my shoes paired with the dusty tile makes a better slip ‘n slide than a yoga mat. It’s not that I don’t want to do a yoga split; I just wasn’t ready for it right then.
