Can you breathe? Great.

The transformation to fall/winter practice remains consistently challenging. I often feel like I need oil in all my joints, when I wake up. Darkness does not help this at all. Job applications, loan payments, and other noise in my head means that if I turn this computer on, I won't practice unless no one shows up to an afternoon class, in which case I can use the dedicated space as a rare practice opportunity. The living room is virtually impossible as a practice space; too much life, too much noise. Or, as I found this morning, too much six-month-old kitten, on whom I half-stepped this morning in mid-sun salutation. That won't do either.

So, there is a "get two weeks free" gym membership flyer in my house. The gym is connected to the university where I currently teach; maybe after two weeks I can get some kind of uni deal, maybe maybe not. Here's how I imagine the dialogue:

A: "welcome to gym x, sir, I see you have your own mat."
B: "it's true, the mat is mine; do you have a room with a flat floor?"
A: "well, that's an uncommon question, but we do have a room for yoga classes."
B: "great, is it available at a set time weekday mornings, say 7 am?"
A: "there are classes in that room according to this schedule, and..."
B: "aha, I see that that room's unoccupied at times q, x and z, how kosher is it if I walk in there at those times, put this mat down, and do some breakdancing?"
A: "pardon?"

Today I got up, found that I could breathe, walk, and speak English, still. Great. That counts as a practice. It is all hand-to-mouth right now. The lesson of the house this morning is that practicing at home is going to be IMPOSSIBLE. The flyer is a sign. Maybe.