Style: Ashtanga
Teacher: Michael Dynie
Studio: Rama Lotus

I missed the bus. Arriving at the station ten minutes too late, I've just been informed that the next departure is at 2:30 am. My options are either to wait here for three hours and get to Montreal around 5 am or go home, get some sleep and get on the early bus, starting my day fresh. I can't help but feel frustrated; I had plans of climbing aboard and relaxing back in my seat, writing my thoughts of tonight's Ashtanga class. Now I'm stranded at the station with all my luggage at midnight.

Flashback three hours ago. I'm warm on my mat working my way through a challenging Ashtanga sequence. My friend, here for the first time, is realizing that yoga isn't exactly what he'd expected. Regardless, he is a good sport and true to his word. In the end, it even seemed like he enjoyed the experience.

Talking to him before class, I found it interesting that his preconceived notion of yoga wasn't so much thinking it an easy, simple process or flaky, pseudo-spiritual nonsense. It was more that it seemed to be a trendy, shallow fad. Just another "in" thing to do, no different then going to Starbucks or a tanning salon. I can understand the perspective. There is sometimes a subtle, underlying pretentiousness in the yoga world. This is something I can definitely expand on when I'm not sitting at a bleak, deserted bus station in the middle of the night. The reality is, even if you came to yoga strictly for the superficial benefits, you can't escape the inner shift that slowly begins to occur.

Weighing my options, I've decided to weather the storm and take the 2:30 bus under the stars. The thought of waking curled up with my sweetheart is just too exquisite to pass up.