One May day, when I was visiting my college on a trip to the west coast, three former classmates said that they were headed to the gym for a workout. Would I like to come?

“Why not?”

It’s surprising how many bad ideas begin with that question.

See what they neglected to mention was that it was an aerobics class: Advanced Step.

I had never done aerobics, let alone an advanced class on step aerobics. It was a scene out of the movie—I kept trying to catch up as my brain tried to figure which one of the last moves we did was the “straddle down.”

After that half hour of pure uncoordinated, exhausted, confused terror, I had to write off becoming a dashing covert agent for MI-6.

Being surrounded by women at Caltech was nice. Exposing my arrhythmic apoplectic flailing to what must have been all the women of Caltech was not so nice.

Halle and Yoga Bear

Halle and her friends, as part of their bleeding heart background, created Yoga Bear, in order to provide yoga to cancer patients and survivors.

But every time she talks about Yoga Bear, I have flashbacks to that step aerobics class.

Yogapalooza

Last month, as I was people watching at a café, she happened to be showing her family San Francisco.

Halle
Calzone’s, North Beach, San Francisco, California

Leica M8, Zeiss Biogon 2,8/25 ZM
1/250sec, iso320, 25mm (33mm)

She reminded me that Yoga Bear is setting YOGAPALOOZA.

YOGAPALOOZA is an afternoon yoga retreat in Gold Gate Park to celebrate yoga for a healtheir life and stronger body with 100% of the proceeds to benefit the following organizations:

• Children’s Cancer Community
• ImTooYoungForThis.org
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• Women’s Cancer Resource Center
• Yoga Bear,

I’ll be there because she assures me that they have classes for Yoga newbies like me.

I keep telling myself. “It can’t be worse than Advanced Step. Why not?”

Right?

Right?

I hope you’ll be there too. (Website, Register, Facebook. Discount codes: “karmapoints” or “friendofyb”)