It’s not a big stretch to bond over yoga

After much idle talk about how nice it would be to have a yoga class close by — within the community — a friend, Buvana, decided to step up. She led the charge, evaluating the options of ‘importing’ the teachers into the community. How much the classes would cost, how many people would volunteer space, and in short order, arranged for interested parties to do a trial class.

Two qualified and experienced yoga teachers agreed to do one trial class each. The news was disseminated, and voila, we had traction on the ‘What if…’ notion that everybody had been chewing the cud over for such a long time.

All this was facilitated by the new catalyst for group activity: the Whatsapp phenomenon where you can be loosely connected to an activity or group and jump in according to inclination. Or choose to be joined at the hip, so to speak, and weigh in on every single query and situation the member swarm raises.

The tactical advantage of creating a class so close to us was obvious — you don’t have to drive out, even to a neighbouring community. The trip, however short, would eat into the precious time set aside for a class. Then the usual bugbear of parking, with most of the sandy lots sealed off from ingress, a newly-declared no-man’s land, and assigned parking areas zealously occupied by people in the locality. Besides, if you were unable to take a class, within the community, somebody else could neatly waltz into the vacated slot that much more easily.

All the planning bore splendid fruit — the teacher chosen was amenable, the students were keen, and many doors opened up. Quite literally, in fact, leading to various yards and lawns. Dubai in winter is an

People have crossed boundaries and lent a hand to others who needed assistance. A query on matters unrelated to yoga elicits a warm response and a quick solution

excellent time to be outdoors and we made the most of it first thing in the morning.

The helicopters that flew overhead to the very upscale Jebel Ali Racecourse and stables would have had a birdseye view of colourful mats that sprouted like flowers on many a lawn. While the mats defined the scope of our individual effort, the teacher moved through the class coaxing the best out of us.

We groaned our way through stretches and poses, asanas, huffed our way through breath-control exercises and slowly settled — or rather, stretched — into the new routine. A winter of promise had converted the class of strangers into a flexible family with a common bond. People have crossed boundaries and lent a hand to others who needed assistance. A query on matters unrelated to yoga elicits a warm response and a quick solution.

With many absentees in class yesterday, the teacher decided that we should test our limits and assigned new asanas. Discovering muscles that we never knew existed, we pushed ourselves. Groaning through one such stretch, as I tried to swing over my right foot to touch my outstretched hand, I heard my neighbour Priya say, “Grab your toes with your hand.” Fair enough. But splayed out with all the elegance of a turtle trying to do jumping jacks, I muttered through gritted teeth, “It’s okay. You touch my toes!” That was it. The whole class dissolved in laughter. I think our entire momentum was spent in laughter therapy. What a great way to start the day.

Why don’t you too stretch yourself and look for interest groups, and in the absence of an existing one, create one. Book clubs, painting, cooking, life skills, pet care, gardening, support groups, the list, and life is endless.