I Honor The Divine Within You. You Personally, On The Other Hand, Are Another Story.

I went to my first "bikram yoga" class" last week. That' s the kind where they heat the studio to 104 degrees. Supposedly this is meant to simulate weather conditions in southern India, so yoga practitioners can get that authentic third world experience. Everyone strains through the poses, guzzles bottled water and sweats like a rain forest. It's a bonding experience.

I went to my first class while I was still back on the East Coast. Even though it was sweaty and slippery, not two of DIH's favorite conditions, it was quite exhilarating. You sweat through 90 minutes of yoga poses and you feel like you can do pretty much anything. So when I got back to Minneapolis I looked up a studio. I went over there yesterday to pick up a schedule but they were closed. They're supposed to be open every day but they were having a special party - I think somebody had been reincarnated or something- so I am going to try again tomorrow.

OK, OK, I should have tried today. I should have gotten up at 5:15 and hauled myself over there for the 6am class. A better person than I would have done that. (Why does becoming a better person always seem to involve getting up earlier?)

The traditional greeting in yoga class is "namaste," meaning "I honor the divine within you" or variations on that phrase. It's actually a good reminder, when the fat guy next to you is flinging bodily fluids your way, that we are all made in the image and likeness of God. Not an easy thing to remember sometimes. But the only path to a decent life.