Late Comers

Yesterday I went to spinning and sweated my heart out -- that instructor is either on cocaine or she is just that energetic, I don't know, but she really pushed us and I must have sweated off about five pounds. She was a good instructor, as are most in my gym, and that's why I always feel bad when people walk in late to the classes. And they walk in not just two or three minutes past the hour, but sometimes they stroll in once the class is halfway over, and it feels so disruptive.

It's one thing during spinning since the music is loud and you're not trying to concentrate on anything, and it's their own business if they come late and have to fiddle with their bike settings while the rest of us are in the middle of our workout, but it's quite another when these people come into yoga late. For one thing, the yoga instructor always dims the lights, so if you're walking in from the gym, it takes awhile for your eyes to adjust to the darkness. But if you're there on time, you can get your mat set up before lights out and it's no problem; however, these late comers saunter in to the dark and are fumbling around with the mat and are searching for a place to sit down and it's quite disruptive when you are trying to be focused.

Last week, this woman came into yoga twenty-five minutes into the class and grabs a mat, and while you would think she'd just grab a spot close to the door, you'd be wrong because she had to settle into a place in the middle of the room -- a very inconvenient spot and two people around her had to adjust their mats to accomodate her. In the meantime, we're all in the middle of down dog and she's wrestling with her shoes and keys, etc making a lot of racket. Then her cell phone starts ringing ("Pump it" by the Black Eyed Peas -- so annoying); I thought the instructor might yell at her, but the instructor was calm and just ignored the interruption -- I guess yoga instructors have the peace of mind to disregard such rude behavior (I have yet to achieve that kind of Nirvana).

It makes me think that the class studios need a no interruption policy. All they need is a friendly sign that says -- "If you're late, don't come in." Well, the wording might need some tweaking, but you get the gist.