***Book Excerpt 2****

Matt was greeted by several hugs and well wishes from the women preparing for practice; he spent time with each of them, careful not to offend anyone. Eva saved a spot for him with a mat strategically placed right in front of her so he couldn’t watch her struggle, if indeed she was going to struggle, which she doubted. When Matt spotted her, he came right over and pulled out his own mat, which he set up right behind Eva.

“What are you doing? I set one up for you here,” Eva started, pointing at the blue mat in front of her.

“How considerate of you; I thought it was taken. I travel with my own mat.” He held up his green mat for her inspection. “Never know when you might need to whip it out and take a few poses I’ll set up here. Thanks.” Matt replied.

“Jerk,” Eva responded under her breath as she stretched her arms above her head.

“What was that?”

“Work…ready to work. This is going to be a piece of cake.”
Jenny disappeared in the back and returned with what looked like smoking hay to Eva and began waving the smoke around the room. She dimmed the lights and asked the class to begin in savasana, or corpse pose, as she explained it for those who didn’t speak Sanskrit. Surely not everyone practicing yoga spoke Sanskrit, and the dumbed down English version wasn’t for her benefit she wondered. Eva looked over at Matt and mouthed the words “corpse pose?” and rolled her eyes. She faked coughing and shrugged her shoulders at him.

“Sage,” he whispered to her, “it cleanses the room.”

Eva slapped her hand over her forehead and mouthed, “of course.”

After centering themselves, they began their ‘sun salutations’ that put them in several poses in rapid succession to warm up. Eva’s feet began to slide as she tried to maintain her perfectly formed upside down ‘V’ or downward dog. The blood rushed to her head—she wasn’t used to being upside down this way. Hanging from a rope off a cliff yes, inclined like this, no. Her hands were seemingly glued to the odd sticky mat. “How is this considered exercise?” she whispered to Matt.

Jenny hissed in response, “Socks off.”

Eva removed them and instantly stopped sliding on the mat. With that, she was able to dig in and really get into the poses. She began to work up a sweat and feel a burn in her quads. She stuck with it until Jenny instructed them to hold the poses for what seemed like forever. They held plank position, warriors one, two and three, and pigeon for several breaths. Jenny then ended the class in savasana, and this time Eva didn’t roll her eyes. She was glad for the break. Breathing heavily, she glanced over at Matt who seemed at peace lying on his green mat; he hadn’t broken a sweat.

Eva drifted off during savasana as she cleared her mind and breathed deeply. She listened to Jenny’s soft melodious voice wafting in and out of her consciousness, coaxing her, willing her to relax. She woke with a start when the class responded “Namaste” in unison. Eva flushed and sat up, joining the rest of the class. In her haste, the blood rushed from her head, making her feel a bit lightheaded. She hadn’t remembered what she thought about in the moments during ‘corpse pose,’ but she had the impression it was important; she wanted it to be.

“Sleep well Ms. Weir?” Matt teased from behind her.

Eva stood slowly and yawned, “Why yes. I did. Best sleep I’ve had in a year.” She was surprised by the amount of energy she now felt.

“Actually, being able to relax that much shows that you’re capable of meditating. Look, here’s Jenny, let’s talk to her about it. Jenny,” he called, ignoring Eva protests.

“How did you enjoy the class Eva?” Jenny asked as she sauntered over.

“It was good. Different. I feel completely stretched out.”

“Great. Make sure you drink plenty of water to flush out all that negativity surrounding you.”

Eva ignored the barb, if it was one. Unsure how the statement was intended, she replied, “okay,” shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She turned to leave when Matt grabbed her arm, keeping her firmly in place.

“Eva’s interested in meditation. I told her you’d be able to help her with that. She needs to create a state of openness to clear her mind and focus. She consults with me on some of my cases.” He motioned with his head for Eva to move in closer. Goal accomplished, he released her and busied himself with rolling up his and Eva’s mats and putting away the equipment. Her glare landed on the back of his head.

“You’re with the police department too? I’m surprised you haven’t used yoga or meditation before now. That explains the negativity. It’s what brought Matt to the studio,” Jenny replied, her gaze shifted toward the spot Matt had just vacated. Jenny refocused on Eva, looking up at her with a far away look in her eyes that made Eva cringe.

“I used to work on the force, forever ago it seems,” she shook her head. “Anyway, I run long distance. It clears my mind. I had a back injury and was strongly advised to find another form of exercise.”

“Well see, many people run to ‘clear their heads,’ she mimicked the quotation marks with her fingers poised at eye level, “but it’s really metaphorical; like running away from your memories, your past, something in your present life, things that have been unpleasant or difficult.

“Anyway, with yoga there’s no escaping. You actually become more mindful of yourself, your surroundings, the Earth. This will be good for you, I think. I noticed that you were resting deeply by the end of the class. What did you think about?”

Again, Eva flushed, “Nothing really. I think the music has an odd effect on me, that or the sage…I’m not sure.”

“I have something I think can help. Can you wait while I get you a CD?”

“Sure. I’ve got nothing but time.”

“And thus it begins,” Jenny said when she returned.
Eva received it and hastily stuffed it in her gym bag, “Thanks. I’ll be around.”

“I know. I look forward to seeing you around Eva,” Jenny responded.