Chapter Two #2
“I—” Charlotte wasn’t sure if she was going to protest or accept, but Talia cut her off.
“You still have time, and I’m not going to pester you, but just know you’re welcome, okay?” She patted Charlotte’s arm twice and walked back to her shop.
“Okay, thanks.” Charlotte stared at the open door and tried to examine why she felt so reluctant to go in. After watching a few students enter and not coming up with any valid excuses, she followed.
“I’m so happy you decided to join us,” Talia said from behind a check-in desk when Charlotte walked in. “Come on over and let’s get you registered.”
Unease prickled Charlotte’s skin, but she knew that change was never comfortable. “Thanks for inviting me.”
Talia beamed. “I could feel your need for connection, so I’m happy you didn’t let your fear stop you. What’s your name, dear?”
“Charlotte Paulson.” She paused because that didn’t feel right.
Charlotte Paulson was the Wall Street badass.
Charlotte had been hung up on keeping up with the Joneses and having the fanciest, newest, and most technologically advanced everything.
Making the most money. No, she felt like someone else now.
“But, please, call me Charlie.” What her parents had called her growing up.
It was a simpler time, and she was a simpler person.
Maybe she needed to go back a little bit to figure out what her new forward was going to be.
“Great to officially meet you, Charlie. Can you fill out your info on the registration tablet and sign the waiver?”
Talia handed her the tablet and checked in two other students while Charlie tried to figure out what to put for her address.
She ended up going with her New York apartment because that would match her driver’s license, even though she wasn’t sure if she would ever go back.
Thinking about its opulence made her feel ill again.
“New York, huh? Are you here on vacation?” Talia said as she took the tablet back.
Charlie had no intention of disclosing any of the circumstances that had brought her to Florida, so she simply said, “I’m taking a little break.”
“Oh, are you a professor on sabbatical?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I’m just…taking some time to figure out my next step.”
“Well, wonderful! I’m glad you came. As I mentioned, today will be free for you, but if you like the class and want to keep coming, you can buy them one at a time, in a class pack, or a monthly unlimited membership.
But we can talk about all that in an hour.
You can borrow a mat and towel today. If you want to buy new clothes, please have a look around, and feel free to try things on in the locker room. I can cut off any tags for you.”
Charlie browsed the racks and bought plain black, calf-length leggings, a black sports bra, and a dark purple tank top.
Since yoga clothes were all stretchy, she didn’t need to try them on before buying.
She felt weird swiping her AmEx willy-nilly for anything she wanted, given her new resolve to find a simpler existence, but she needed clothes.
She couldn’t survive on the two sets she had, and the workout outfit she’d just purchased was worth it since it was beyond comfortable.
Locking up her ridiculous clothes and grabbing her borrowed mat, Charlie walked into the yoga studio and lost her breath at the heat that enveloped her.
She’d forgotten just how hot a hot yoga studio could be.
She gave herself a few moments to regulate her breath and get used to the temperature before she picked an open spot in the back corner and rolled out her borrowed mat.
She tried not to think about how many people had used it before as she settled her hips between her heels and brought her forehead to it in child’s pose.
She almost groaned at the pleasure pain stretching out her hips and wondered how long it had been since she’d stretched like this.
Sure, she’d kept in shape by running on her Peloton treadmill six days a week at four a.m. before heading into the office, but that didn’t nourish her, and she never stretched after.
Before she knew it, Talia came in and started class.
Charlie felt like the Tin Man at first but started to warm up as class progressed, and she realized how much she missed the yoga that used to be a several times a week ritual, though that had been more than a decade and a half ago.
But the new Charlie needed it to be a part of her life again, so when Talia brought them all back from savasana, she was hooked.
“Thank you all for sharing your practice with me this morning. As a reminder, I teach this class every morning at this same time, other than Monday and Tuesday. Also, don’t forget, I’m starting a new session of yoga teacher training in two weeks.
If you love yoga and are looking to share it with others or deepen your own practice, this is a great way to do it. ”
As Charlie sat stretching her hips a little more, she wondered if yoga teacher training would be something she could get into.
It would at least give her something to do with her time while she tried to figure out what was next.
Maybe all the introspection she assumed would come with it would help too.