yoga

I've been going to a small yoga studio in Meguro called Sun and Moon pretty regularly, because I love Em, a Brit who teaches the Wednesday "community class" (a bargain at only 1,000 yen -- about $10 -- as opposed to the usual $30), and it's convenient for me to get to. Today the place was packed -- more than a dozen students, including one ex-pat guy who looked like Moby, a half dozen Japanese women and a smattering of Europeans, including Delphine from France, Graciella from Argentina and Jette from Denmark. At one point Em told us to find a partner, and so I teamed up with Jette, who pronounces her name "YET-ta" and is about a foot and a half taller than me, and strong and blonde and did I mention that she's a trained massage therapist? We were supposed to spot each other on some back bends, which worked out great for me, because anytime you are doing bow pose or whatever it is they call the one where you're stomach-down on the mat and arching back to grab your feet, it's good to have a strong woman sort of standing/squatting over you so you can reach back and hold onto her ankles instead, while she rests her bum on the soles of your feet and plants her hands on your chest to pull you up from behind. It's really not erotic in the least but I realize that's how it may sound (oh my)...Anyway, it worked, I was bending way back, farther than I ever had before, and just resting comfortably in the pose, while Jette said "Goot!" and other encouraging things. And then afterward she gave me the best 10-second lower back massage of my life. She definitely got the crap end of this deal, as I don't think I gave her nearly as good as I got. Thank you, Jette. And sorry!

I love Tokyo.