Friends outside of class didn't understand what she got from her time in the studio, but everyone there did - they all came back for the same thing. To move beyond their everyday lives into something more, something deeper and calmer and more worthwhile. After yoga, everything else was easier. Yoga had taught her to breathe and to go to that place in herself where she could look at things differently and put things in perspective. This was her homebase. Everything started and ended here, on her mat, within herself - calm and serene and oftentimes sweating for that one hour of the day.
"Okay, so abs and neck and arms," Rosie said as she began rubbing her hands together, signaling the body that yoga was about to begin. Everyone gently shut their eyes and began rubbing their hands together too. "Bring your hands to your heart," she paused, "Take a deep breath in to tune in."
And they all sang OMMMMM...
After chanting and Kapalabhati breathing, plus two minutes of Breath of Fire, Rosie lead the class through a series of tough asanas. Sunday morning was flow class, Debbie's favorite. The constant moving from one pose to the other was challenging but rewarding and she always felt like she'd accomplished something beautiful when it was over. When the mantra-filled, trance-like music was playing in the background and the candles on the altar were lit, the transcendent atmosphere made her want to stay there all morning, dancing to the flow of the class.
"And come to the floor where we'll do a few more poses," Rosie said in that voice the class had come to love. Rosie's voice could work miracles. She made poetry come to life when she started or ended a class with one of her favorite poems. Oftentimes when she read, unbidden tears would flow from her students' faces; she was able to convey so much with the tone of her voice. Sometimes -- like when the stereo was broken and CDs wouldn't play -- Rosie sang chants in Sanskrit for them while the class rested in corpse pose.
"Now gently unfold, into savasana..." As she rolled down, one vertebrae at a time, Debbie relaxed all her bones and unfurled onto her mat. Her eyes closed, her mind lazily moved from one hazy thought to another as she listened to the mantra playing, "Ra Ma Da Sa, Sa Say So Hung." Sun, moon, earth, infinity, I am all That. Without thinking, her focus went to her third eye and she was gone, floating somewhere beyond her consciousness.
After an indefinite amount of time, and what seemed like from far away she heard Rosie's voice say, "Deepen your breathing." Time to come back, Debbie thought, time to reenter the room. "Wiggle your fingers and toes... Roll to your right... and when you're ready, come up to sitting at the front of your mat."
Eyes still closed, Debbie rolled to her right and pressed herself up into lotus. There was always a slight feeling of sadness when the class ended, like coming to the final lines of a beautiful story. She heard the brushing sound of hands being rubbed together, signaling the end of yoga. She joined in and then brought her hands to her heart in prayer. Rosie said the closing words: "I honor that place in you where God resides. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us. Namaste."
The class bent forward over their crossed legs, extending their folded hands and bowing their heads to the floor between their arms. Debbie prayed that her day be a good one, that she have fun with her husband. She prayed that everyone in her family be healthy and happy, and that everyone in the room and their families be healthy and happy as well." As she came up from prayer, she remained in the seated position with her hands at her heart. Her eyes felt good closed and opening them was always the last step to take before ending the joy of yoga and facing the day ahead.
The room was silent except for the humming of the music in the background. Everyone else was in the same space as she was, thought Debbie. She slowly opened her eyes. On the floor in front of her flickered the light of a candle atop a cupcake.
She heard a few giggles. "Happy birthday Debbie!" And with that, they all began singing.
Debbie's eyes filled with tears as she realized what was happening. She glanced side to side but was overwhelmed with the feeling that people were being nice to her, that they liked her and that she was special. She looked to the ceiling, trying to balance the tears that cascaded over her lower lids before she could wipe them away. She could hardly stand it, the feeling was so all encompassing. When the singing came to an end, she thought about it a second and then made her secret birthday wish and blew out the candle. Before she could speak, Rosie said, "Now let's sing the "Long Time Sun Song" for Debbie."
Feeling as if her heart would burst, Debbie listened as they sang the Kundalina farewell blessing song that always, no matter what, made her cry. In their soft high voices, they repeated the loving verse three times:
May the long time sun
Shine upon you,
All love surround you,
And the pure light within you
Guide your way on.
As the song went on, one by one, she heard voices stop singing, and Debbie knew that others were being touched by the song as well, including Rosie. In the end, only a handful of sweet voices made it though the last verse.
Barely able to speak, Debbie gathered her breath and said softly, "Thank you." And thoughout the room, more tears slid down cheeks, and more minds thought about what they had experienced here, and how they would carry it with them in their heart throughout the rest of their day.
