Photo courtesy of Julie Collier This photo comes from my dear friend Jule and depicts a quiet Fall scene in Hagerstown, Maryland where Padma Yoga will be opening this Friday.

I’m not OCD, and I’m actually pretty far from it. Still, there are a few things I consistently like. For instance, I enjoy morning coffee every day, running distances over a few miles, washing my face with special toner and cleanser, and saying namaste after an amazing yoga class.

Recently, I had the unfortunate circumstance of having some angry or ambivalent yoga instructor consciously not say namaste, or ask everyone else to join in and say namaste at the end of a class. It happened once before in Maryland and it happened recently in Chicago. Why do I care? Well, I will indulge.

Namaste means the divine in me honors the divine in you. You say this after any yoga class: gentle yoga, ashtanga, hot, or yoga in your basic gym/fitness center.

But I was sad to find out that my first bikram yoga class (fancy term for hot yoga) here in Chicago was met with a disheartening walk out from the instructor where everyone was routinely invited to enjoy their savasana, or corpse pose, for as long as they wanted, but was not given the directive to say a namaste.

If you’re an avid yoga fan and happen to care, you may or may not feel my pain.

It’s not a big deal, but if there’s something I will always like about yoga, it’s the end of it. The feeling of mmmmm I just indulged in a great feast of goodness for my body and mmm, don’t it feel great?

Let’s all unite and give thanks for being able to practice yoga. Namaste. (Bow your head and know that it is a gift to be alive and breathing and it is necessary to treat your body and soul with respect as well as one another… or whatever it is you are feeling at that moment.)

Overall, it’s a juicy reminder that you’re healthy and you should not take it for granted. Isn’t that a great way to finish off your exercising? A little meditation, a little quieting of the mind, and some calming of the body into stillness ---NA-MA-STE (na-ma-stay). These are all beautiful prerequisites for a delicious “namaste.”

I think it’s a pretty significant part of yoga and I appreciate ceremonious endings that come from, typically, privately owned studios.

My very first yoga class ever was with the sweetest woman, Marilyn, whom presently teaches at Sol Yoga in Frederick, I’m pretty sure, actually gave a precious gift for the ending of class as well as a little charm for the beginning (these are the things I love about certain yoga classes).

She offered everyone a card that had a little meditative thought such as: tranquility with a little description. At the end she handed out lavender scented satin eye pillows. And the kicker was that she told us we could keep them. I still have mine and I still remember that first yoga class. It’s the little things.

So with those little beautiful things in mind that make yoga special, whether it’s some peppermint lotion being rubbed gently into your temples or wrists or the scent of some luxurious oil being sprayed delicately over your nose as you drift off into a peaceful state, I must say nama-thank you to those instructors who make the yoga experience a unique one because that’s what keeps me coming. I like tradition, but I also love an instructor that smiles, and wants the experience to be blissful and not just a sweaty workout. Yoga is more than that, even though I absolutely adore the sweaty ones.

And to conclude, I am overjoyed that I will be heading off to Maryland for Christa’s, (my favorite instructor), re-opening of Padma Yoga. Classes will start this Friday, November 20^th in downtown Hagerstown and I am so grateful that when I come home for Thanksgiving next week (before departing for New York), I will be able to attend a new class at her new studio with my best friend. Life is good. Namaste.