Free From Comfortable Distances by Jodi Weiss Page A

it, but then I
found yoga.”
     “You left your career to
become a yoga teacher?”
    “Not all at once. But
little by little, the more I got into yoga, the more I started to analyze what
I wanted in my life—what mattered. I always felt as if I was rushing around,
living on a time schedule—I’d show up late for every yoga class. Everything
about my life was messy and frantic. Yoga helped me to get a grip on my life.
Pretty soon, I was leaving work earlier to make sure I’d get to class on time.
My priorities shifted.”
    Tess nodded. She felt
like she was listening to an infomercial on why to become a yoga teacher.
Frankly, she just wanted to be quiet. Seep in the rewards of her class. How
didn’t the teacher get that? The crowds were beginning to disperse. Tess
spotted an empty changing room.
     Tess smiled at the
teacher. “I’m glad it worked out for you,” she said.
    “You should check out the
teacher training program. There’s a reason you found yoga at this point in your
life. Once I took the teacher training program, it wasn’t long before I left my
career and began teaching full time.”
    “Sounds like you found
your calling.”
    “I’ve learned firsthand
that it’s never too late to change your life,” the teacher said. “Besides, the
studio could use some teachers like you. I think it would be very inspirational
for students to see that yoga is for all ages.”
    Tess had heard enough.
Was the teacher insinuating that Tess was over-the-hill? Sure, she wasn’t in
her twenties or thirties, but she wasn’t a senior citizen either. She was about
to tell the teacher she was in her thirties, see how she’d handle that one, but
then she caught herself. Who cared what the teacher said? And yet how dare the
teacher bother her like this after class. Wasn’t she allowed to be quiet and
enjoy the peaceful feeling?
    The teacher reached over
to the stack of flyers behind the desk, and gave one to Tess. Tess glanced at
it, folded it in half, and smiled a cheesy smile. “I need to be going,” she
said.
    “Trust me, when I took
the training, I never thought I’d become a yoga teacher. Oh, and classes and
all the training sessions are at night and on weekends—it’s set up for people
who work full time.”
    “Thanks,” Tess said. She
would make it a point to never take her class again.
    She put her hand on
Tess’s shoulder and smiled into her eyes. What was going on—why wouldn’t she
back off of Tess and let her be? There were plenty of other people that she
could go bug to take the teacher training program. What did she want from Tess?
    Tess slipped on her
loafers and was at the elevator, pushing the down button without taking the
time to change into her street clothes. She didn’t want to risk having to
listen to another minute of the teacher’s lecturing.
    Just as she got into the
elevator someone screamed hold it, and in walked Dale. Tess was already plotting
to find a new studio to go to. She imagined that there were dozens to choose
from in the city. Between the teacher salesperson and now Dale, the girl who
had issues with homes, Tess was beginning to feel more stressed out than she
had when she first walked into the studio after work.
    “Hello, Tess.”
    Tess smiled pleasant
enough and nodded. No. N-O. She was not going to deal with anymore banter. This
was her night. Her peace of mind.
    “I was going to take the
next class, but when I realized who was teaching it, I couldn’t do it.” Dale
nodded at the paper in Tess’s hand. “She’s fierce, huh?”
    “She hit on you for the
teacher training program, too?” Tess said.
    “I think that she tries
to convince others to become a yoga teacher in order to help her deal with her
insecurities that she traded in her career to become a yoga teacher.”
    “And I thought I was
special,” Tess said.
    “The good news is that
she only teaches one class on Tuesday nights. That’s why I take the later class
on Tuesday nights, the one after