Helen does something every couple of months that it seems not all yoga teachers do. No, she doesn’t get crazy drunk and then go on a weekend long McDonalds binge. As far as I know. She organises socials, a chance to meet up with others who go to her classes, or for that matter don’t go to her classes.
So every few weeks we meet after her last class of the week, on a Friday night. We have a great place for this – a café called The Egg. This is perfect for a bunch of yogis because it’s all vegetarian, so great for vegans too, but also because you just order your food whenever, so you can drop in for a drink, a bit of cake, or go for a full meal. It’s also unlicensed, so you can bring your own alcohol if you want to but it’s nice to be somewhere on a Friday night where being surrounded by drunk people (or in my case, being led astray to become one of the drunk people . . .) isn’t part of the deal.
So some of us will have been to Helen’s last class that day. Or maybe one or two other classes during the week. Or no classes for a week. Or a month. Or ever. One of the nice things is meeting people’s partners, or complete yoga newbies who are coming to meet us all before venturing to class. Some of us know each other well now and have a big catch up. Some – probably most – have never actually spoken before, but having been in the same yoga class a few times, once introduced it’s often ‘Ah, so you’re the S____ who I heard being told to get those toes in during backbends’. There’s usually a bit of chat about yoga, and it’s a good chance for swapping experiences and asking advice more informally than in class, and then there’s usually an awful lot more chat about other stuff.
By the end of the evening, it’s often impossible to tell who knew who before we met up a couple of hours before. More than once I’ve assumed that the group going on for a drink or arranging to meet in the park next day must have been friends for a while, when it turns out that night’s the first time they’ve spoken. This is so important for people who are new to the city, and want to get to know people, but also who want to get to know places and organisations. Between us we have a pretty impressive wealth of knowledge about living well in in Liverpool. It never feels like there’s a ‘clique’, or an ‘in group’, just a bunch of otherwise disparate people who a) live here and b) do yoga. And we’re all nice, honest.
And then next time you’re in class, instead of a polite smile while you arrange your mat, there’s a proper grin, and a ‘how are you?’. And a confession from me that I have, once again, forgotten your name. Sorry about that.
The next yoga social will be in July. You can keep updated with Ashtanga Yoga Liverpool’s events via the monthly newsletter. This blog post was written by Rosey Stock, you might recognise her from class. If you would like to contribute the blog, please let me know. It’s great to get the student perspective. Thanks Rosey. Helen
