I know that in yoga class you aren't supposed to really look at other people, or compare yourself, because yoga is just about you, and your body's ability to hold a pose. But I do.
It's not the people whose limbs easily flop into poses without effort that impress me. They aren't doing yoga. Statically holding the pose with intent and power is more beneficial. Moving mindfully into the pose and calling on all ligaments and tendons to participate is when you are achieving the work.
My favorite ones to watch are ones who can't quite make the pose, who reach for their edge and breathe into it, solid in their shortcomings and willing to do the work.
I'm attracted to the way people move, imagining them throughout their day, washing dishes, chopping wood; the flow in which they move through life. You can tell a lot about a person watching their comfort and discomfort at task. The guy who moves with hesitation. The guy who moves like a cheetah.
And when we lie on our sides after chavasana, that guy on the mat next to me, I imagine spooning up behind him to smell his neck.
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