Who: Brad and Rylee When: Wednesday, 22nd November Where: Waterfront Fitness Warnings: None Status: Finished
Though only a few days had passed since returning from India Brad had gotten over his jet lag and was also getting used to the colder weather that was normal for the north east. He had been spoiled for the past five or six years in Las Vegas where the winters were milder and snow was something that only fell on the mountains, even India was quite warm and humid and coming back to below freezing temperatures and the possibility of snow looming would take some getting used to.
Wednesday was his first yoga class and he was actually feeling a bit nervous about it, sure they had done mock classes during their course but this was the real thing, it was up to him to sort out the routine - what poses and the order they’d be done in. He had brought a large book on Hatha yoga, it had some ideas and examples for routines and what parts of the body they focused on. After a good read he figured one out and just hoped that it would fill in the hour that was put aside for the class and more importantly, that people would actually turn up!
Dressed in what could be described as ‘smart’ yoga clothing Brad drove from his house at Seaview to the gym, parking in the staff section before going inside. Stripping off the layers and putting them in his locker he took out his small notebook with the routine written in it, he then took a deep breath and walked out to the room where he’d be holding the class, there was still fifteen minutes until the class started and it was currently empty so he started stretching his own muscles in preparation.
Rylee had had a pretty decent week so far, which was a nice change of pace given the past month or so. She had never been overly excited for exercise, though occasionally she would give in and go for a jog with Carson when he wanted the company, but otherwise, she was pretty happy just lounging about and enjoying herself that way. Today she decided to try something different, something that would help clear her mind and refocus on what was going on. So once she saw the gym was offering yoga classes, Rylee signed up, thinking Carson would probably be proud of her for voluntarily exercising.
She was excited about it, until she actually got there and walked into the room with her things. It wasn't that she disliked Brad, she just... wasn't fond of him, for obvious reasons. Not that her reasons were Brad's fault. It was just hard to dismiss them. But she opted to put all of that behind her, at least for the next hour. "Hey," she greeted with a small smile as she stepped into the room. "How have you been?"
Two people had come in and Brad spent a few minutes with each, getting them set up and doing some gentle warming up exercises. One of them had done yoga before so he was glad that he wouldn't have a class of complete novices, not that he would have minded if he had. He had also checked with his new students if they were okay with him touching them to correct their poses if needed, it wasn't always needed but he didn't want to come off as a creep or get himself fired after just his first class because someone complained, so setting boundaries and guidelines early was important.
He didn't let the smile fall from his face when he saw the next student enter the room. The last time he had seen Rylee she was quite curt with him, making it clear that she disapproved of the charity he had extended to her cousin. Still, he wasn't going to hold that against her, he was going to be professional and put anything else to the side. “Not too bad, jet lag can be a bit of a bitch though.” Thankfully he had woken on Monday morning feeling a whole lot better then he did when the flight landed on Sunday. “Have you done yoga before?” He asked, standard question but essential to figure out how he was going to approach the class, a group full of novices was a lot different to one filled with those who knew what they were doing.
Rylee hummed a small response and started to set down her mat on the floor. "A couple times in the past, but nothing super consistent," she explained. "It's been awhile, but I remember a lot of what I was taught. I didn't realize you worked here." Carson hadn't said anything about it to her, but she could understand why he hadn't if he had known. And maybe he didn't know. With everything going on in his life lately, work was probably the last thing on his mind.
Brad gave a small nod as Rylee said she wasn't a total novice, and watched as she set down her mat in an empty spot on the floor. “I've just started, I got back from my training course in India on the weekend, came in for an interview and here I am.” He didn't mention that he was currently on a trial, to see if yoga classes were viable and worth the time and money for the gym to hold. “It won't be too difficult but if you don't feel comfortable doing a pose don't do it, I don't want anyone getting injured.” That wouldn't be a good look, especially on his first day - someone injuring themselves because they tried to do something too advanced, plus there was always alternatives to the more difficult poses.
Going to India to train in something like yoga seemed a bit odd, but some people were exceptionally passionate about certain things, she supposed. Personally she would be teaching in a much bigger city if she had spent that kind of time and money on a career. Maybe someday she would get out of this place. "I'll be fine," she promised him with a small smile. "I won't try anything complicated...but you're also the teacher, so... don't jump into complicated on the first day?" Her smile widened a touch. "I'm sure you know what you're doing."
Without taking the cost of the airfare into account it actually turned out cheaper compared to some of the courses in the US that he had looked at, plus he had gotten to experience another culture which was always a bonus in his view. He had enjoyed the course and doing so had given him some kind of direction in a previously rather empty life that was left after he had quit his previous job. “I promise nothing too crazy, the series of poses is meant to help with stress and irritability, which I think we all need when it comes to Thanksgiving. Friday's class will be focusing on helping indigestion.” Brad smiled at Rylee. “The yogis really do have a treatment for almost any ailment.” It really was amazing when he looked into it. “I might need to help adjust your poses at times but tell me if you'd rather not have me touch you and I won't.” He added.
Well, irritability was something she could definitely use some help with. Whether yoga would help or not, she didn't know, but Rylee supposed she would find out. Offering him a small smile, Rylee shook her head. "I don't mind it." It wasn't like Brad was going to go around groping people. Yoga teachers were there to teach, and she knew that included helping adjust posing. "I would much rather know that I'm doing it right, otherwise what's the point, you know?"
Even if it didn’t help with people’s ailments yoga was still good for flexibility, mental health and of course exercise, Brad just hoped that there was interest for it in the town and he’d get to do a couple of classes a week and give him some sort of structure and stability in a pretty up and down ride of late. “That’s the right kind of mindframe to have when it comes to pretty much anything. You can get points for just trying, but how are you supposed to learn anything if you just keep making the same mistakes over and over again? You need to be able to acknowledge that your method might not be the right one and accept change if it helps.” Even though a lot of people were happy to just live in their own worlds and ignore anything that didn’t fit with their views, Brad knew that one for personal experience, especially since moving back and have to deal with some pretty rude homophobes. He noticed another few people enter the room for the class and he gave them a smile and a ‘be with you in a second’ nod. “I’ll let you get warmed up, feel free to get my attention if you need it.” With one last smile he left Rylee to get ready for the class and went to welcome the new arrivals.