moved by: the Tuesday morning crew

I’ve taught 6am yoga sculpt at CorePower Yoga Fresh Pond for about 7 years - give or take two pregnancies and a global pandemic, all of which I managed to overcome so I could continue to move with my people and turn the music up in studio 1.

On Tuesdays, I see people that have been coming to my class throughout all 7 of these years. I see and appreciate new faces, loyal students, women and men who have become friends. I’m lucky enough that many share their lives with me before and after class.

To a mom with two kids under 4, that lives an hour plus away from Boston and most of her friends - this 60 minute class, and the moments before and after, is often the extent of my social interaction for the entire week.

While of course maintaining their privacy, I’d like to share a few conversations I’ve had over the past year, standing at the front desk of within the four walls of our mindful workout space:

I was the first person that a student told that she had passed her French test which would allow her to spend more time in France with her husband, who has dual citizenship. She had failed the first time, and worked so hard to pass this second time. She found out late that night that she had passed, and told me, with joyful tears in her eyes, how relieved she was.

A man who’s been sculpting with me since my beginning came back from a hiatus that was spent taking care of and enjoying his 6 month old daughter. It was so good to see him, and to know his wife and his little girl are doing well. He showed me pictures, and she is absolutely adorable. He shows up when she sleeps well, and he shows up when no one in the house sleeps well. And I can certainly relate.

An an absolutely radiant newer student shared that her ex husband is able to take care of her daughter on certain days, and she’s been able to set it up this month so that she can take my class for the next three weeks! Imagine my delight to hear that she has been working to prioritize this early moment workout that I am so privileged to lead her in.

The woman that I get ready with in the locker room every Tuesday told me the process of her interviewing for a new job, waiting to hear if it would pan out, and getting the new job. Her energy is so fun and contagious, and we build each other up as we blow dry our blonde hair. I forgot my makeup one day, and she let me use her face lotion. It’s the closest to “getting ready with friends” that I get - because that’s exactly what it is.

Here are the two interactions from this morning that prompted this post:

A dear friend, who had told me her long tenure in her job was ending, not quite because she was ready for it to, but she was being positive and looking forward to a change, albeit forced, couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in her eyes as she told me about the outpouring of support she’s been receiving as her time winds down. No one deserves to be celebrated more, and my eyes filled up, too, as she spoke of situation - sad, and hopeful all at the same time.

Another woman who lights up the room every time she joins class had very close to full on crying as she told me the details of her best friend’s daughter that had passed away last month. Also her daughter’s best friend. The two of them were back and forth to try and support, and I’m crying now as I recall the heaviness, the awfulness, the tragedy of the situation. The unimaginable pain of it all. But she was so happy to have been able to return to class this morning, to move, to breathe, to smile - to not think about it.

And that’s why I get up at 3:45am every Tuesday morning and drive an hour to Cambridge - to see baby pictures, to share joy in other’s achievements, to experience gut wrenching empathy in a way that hits a little harder after our incredible collective experience of movement and breath.

It’s more than yoga, and it’s certainly more than a workout. Sometimes there are not words to describe what we’ve all created on Tuesday mornings. But sometimes there are. And I’m forever grateful for the trust these friends put in me to share their stories and their time.