(Photo: Kate Herrera Jenkins) How I Share CeremonyĪ couple of years after I attended that first yoga class, I trained to become a teacher. I found a place in my town that offered hot yoga and I went to class almost every day. I could be in ceremony every day on my mat.Īnd that’s exactly what I did. Through this new, sweaty practice, I could experience a strong connection with Creator, and I didn’t even have to be on my reservation or in a kiva. In my heart and mind, I had left this world and spent time in a sacred space with the purest version of myself.Īt that moment, there was not a force that could take my peace away. My skin was like new, my vision was sharper, and my breath was pure peace. My senses were signaling as if I had just left a traditional ceremony. My body seemed superhuman and my spirit felt as though it was sparkling. That’s exactly how I felt after my first hot yoga class. We come close to the Spirit world so that we can emerge from the kiva as a new creation. In the kiva we pray, we sing, we dance, and we SWEAT. In my Pueblo culture, a kiva is a structure at the center of our village where we gather together seasonally. I was not expecting yoga to bring me the exact same feeling that I experienced in the kiva. To my surprise, I didn’t die, I still love that friend, and at the end of class, I felt like I’d spent time with my Creator and visited with the ancestors. Thinking death was near, I darted my eyes over at my friend and angrily whispered “How long is this freaking class?” With a grin, she responded, “90 minutes.” I wearily whispered back, “I hate you.” My vision continually shifted between black tunnel vision and blinding whiteout. My breathing became audible in what I can only imagine is how a baby dragon might sound. My clothes quickly became drenched and heavy. I didn’t realize it was going to be THAT hot.Īs class began and the teacher started talking and never stopped, I felt like my life was slipping into some kind of purgatorial chamber. The blast of fiery air that burned my nostrils felt like it was going to melt me from the inside out. She’d been begging me to go to yoga with her for months, and that next morning, I finally gave in.īut as I entered the scorching hot room, I immediately understood that I was completely unprepared. I begrudgingly attended my first hot yoga class 17 years ago after a long night of catching up with my old college roommate. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
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