[Grappl] Air Yoga & Chill

[Dubski]

Ema wouldn't be doing some stretches alone for too long. The instructor would greet the class and start. Aarna flashed a quick smile to her date and then said in a hushed voice, "Alright, let's do this!"

Kneeling onto the mat, Aarna would begin to start following along with the warm up stretches. They were all rather simple. Downward dog, catcow, leg stretch, child pose, pelvic tilts. They were going through all of them slowly. Aarna herself did them all stunningly well, and her incredibly flexibility was on display for Ema when she looked over.

It wasn't until they did the twist that Mehta was finally able to look over at Ema with a big smile on her face. "Not too bad so far, right? Feeling alright with these?" asked the Indian girl, a friendly expression on her face.

[PurpleMage]

With the instructor arriving the class could properly start. First of all everyone needed to warm up and to do so they started doing some simple yoga stretches that would surely get them ready for what was coming. Ema had practiced most of those yoga postures before so it wasn’t very difficult for her to follow the class’ rhythm. Her flexibility was more than decent so at least she started things without feeling like she was falling behind. Also, the purple-haired could feel Aarna being just besides her, so attentive to anything she could need and even checking on her regularly to see how she was feeling. “Y-yeah! I know most of these, but with an instructor it feels like I get the most out of them. I think that I can learn a lot about the form and execution of the moves now that I’m seeing other people making them. What about you?”

[Dubski]

Aarna smiled cheerfully at Ema and gave a stiff nod, not wanting to let her stretch go. "Yeah, you got this! Just look at me or anyone else if you need help! I'm happy to give you whatever instructions you might need!" said the Indian girl with a wink. She would then drop into downward dog, beginning her next stretch as she spoke over to Ema again. "But I'm doing good! This is the easy part. These are really good stretches to get me limber though."

Mehta would then push down onto the mat with both hands and lean back, letting her chest press forward as she stretched, practicing even breathing as she did so. After a few more stretches, they were instructed to get back up and then get ready for the main part of the yoga class. Aarna would then unfurl the hammock as instructed, but it seemed like she needed no instruction on her end as the hammock got prepared. Then, she got inside, fitting her entire body in it and then calling out to Ema, trying to squint and see through the hammock to look at Ema's progress. "How are you doing Ema!?"

[PurpleMage]

Ema felt really motivated after Aarna’s encouragement. She was resolved to make the most out of the day at that point. Only when her partner would throw a wink at her she would lose her focus for an instant, as if suddenly being aware of how they were getting into some positions that showed maybe too much of their bodies, and in front of all those people. One thing was practising yoga at home where nobody could look, but that felt a little like an intrussion.

Luckily, that feeling faded quickly as the class moved on to another stage, now the air yoga part was going to properly start and the participants needed to unfurl the hammock they were going to exercise in. Getting on her feet, Ema did her best to unfurl the piece of apparel, but now and then she would find it getting stuck here and there so she had to undo the jam before she could procceed. Noticing how that was delaying her, she focused on getting the work done. When Aarna talked to check on her Ema almost got startled. “Good! Just getting the hammock ready!”, she said while trying to look like she knew what she was doing. After what felt like an eternity the hammock was ready and Ema got inside it with some undecided moves. The feeling was weird and the purple-haired would definitely need to get used to it, but she was excited about it.

[Dubski]

Aarna stifled a giggle as she watched Ema through the hammock as she messed with her hammock. For the Indian girl, it was easy and second nature, but for Ema it seemed like it was far more difficult. Mehta bit her lip and waited until Ema got it ready before laying back in the hammock as well. Then, they were being instructed through the very basic rest stretches inside.

"Mmm... It feels cozy!" said Aarna, a warm tone to her voice. The first stretch would be the Inverted Cobra. Gripping onto the edge of the hammock, she would then slowly tilt her body back as it slid out of the hammock. She would then stretch her back over it, managing to get at a very healthy angle before setting her hands on the mat below her, head nearly touching the ground.

Then, Aarna would glance at Ema. "You just need to get a gooood stretch in there. Let your body naturally curve!" said Mehta, trying to be helpful as she maintained the pose, watching to see if Ema was able to do it right.

[PurpleMage]

Ema breathed deep after getting out of her previous predicament without losing much of her dignity. The purple-haired was still getting used to the feeling of the hammock. It wasn’t as easy as one could think dealing with your weight while hanging from that piece of cloth and Ema still needed some practice before she could feel completely comfortable hanging from the hammock.

The first real air yoga stretch would get all those new feelings and skills to the test when Ema now needed to follow the class and execute an inverted cobra stretch, making her body hang towards the floor and use gravity to stretch. At first Ema was unsure of this and she barely lost control over her body and fell when starting to execute it, but after grabbing the hammock in an emergency pull to save herself she breathed deep and her second attempt went way better, with the purple-haired managing to slowly but surely get her body just where she wanted and executing the stretch. Feeling a rush of adrenaline and self-fulfillment she could barely hide her excitement when she spoke to Aarna: “I think I’ve got it!”

[Dubski]

Aarna watched as Ema began to get into the Inverted Cobra with bated breath. Her date seemed nervous, and afraid to completely biff it and fall down. For Mehta, it was easy, but for Ema it was certainly a tough undertaking. So the Indian girl kept her eyes on Ema as she took deep breaths, getting the most out of the stretch. And then, finally, she got it! "You did it!" said Aarna excitedly, beaming at her date! "It's not so scary once you get it down!"

Of course, the next stretch would be tougher than the next. The Inverted Goddess was a tough one, and while it was still simple for Aarna, it may be harder for Ema. Casually shifting her feet to lock into the hammock, Aarna would then slowly shift her weight to go completely vertical, upside-down with the Inverted Goddess. Her platinum hair was touching the mat as gravity forced it down. And then Mehta would bright her arms out, making the most of the stretch. "You just need to take it slow... and lock your feet. From there, you can trust yourself to release... and relax..." offered Aarna helpfully, closing her eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath to bask in the awesome stretch.

[PurpleMage]

When she realized how she was capable of executing the inverted cobra stretch and Aarna gave her compliments for that, Ema felt a rush of adrenaline coursing her body. It was pretty ironical since a rush of adrenaline was the last thing someone doing yoga would want to feel, but for the moment it was good for the purple-haired as she also felt like a fish out of the water. The next round of moves would prove to be way more difficult than the first one since the “air” part of air yoga was starting to shine.

For the next stretch Ema would have to lock her feet on the hammock and go for a full against the gravity move. Feeling some goosebumps she started shifting the position of her feet so she would entangle them in the hammock, but she wasn’t that confident on what would happen as soon as she starged hanging. Would the hammock, and her feet, truly support her? Aarna didn’t look like she was having trouble, so Ema decided it was worth a try.

Hearing Aarna’s advice strengthened Ema’s resolve to pull this move through. “W-whoa...” At first, the purple-haired advanced at an unsteady pace when she noticed her gravity center shifting, but as soon as she realized that her grip on the hammock was firm she allowed herself to execute the hold just right, focusing on her breathing to make the most out of it.

[Dubski]

Aarna would eventually take her gaze back to Ema, giggling softly as she saw how hesitant she was. She had a feeling that the girl would be able to make it happen though. "Easy..." she said gently, waiting for her date to get it done. And, in time, Ema did it! "Yaaaay...!" said Aarna loud enough to not be disruptive, clapping in front of her while she was suspended, smiling happily at her. "See? Not bad! The next one is easy!"

The Indian girl would then effortlessly begin to lift up, getting halfway before having to grab hold of the hammock again. She would then put her feet together back in the hammock, pointing them downward as she lifted up, effectively performing the Squatting Frog, casually, wrapping her arms around the rest of the hammock to each side as the pressure was down on her pelvis and thighs. She would then glance over to Ema. "This means the next one is the hardest out of these basic ones! So just relax for this one!" said Aarna, giving a thumbs up to her.

[PurpleMage]

Aarna’s encouragement was working wonders on Ema at that point. Yes, the purple-haired was the one making the precise moves needed to get the stretches done and it had been her the one brave enough to step out of her comfort zone and post that Grappl profile, but Ema had to admit most of her strength at the moment came from the pretty positive, cheerful and thoughtful disposition Aarna was having with her and that was something Ema wouldn’t forget easily.

“Um, I guess I’ll get ready and do my best!” After Aarna’s advice for caution the purple-haired started executing the next pose and even a newbie to air yoga like her could notice that the squatting frog was an easy pose for her now! Ema breathed deep when she noticed the pressure applied on her legs and used the gravity to relax her body, letting the hammock do most of the work while she focused on her breathing, closing her eyes. “I think I’ve got this one...”, she said in a much more relaxed tone now, feeling her full body relax.