The teacher wasn’t slim or trim. He didn’t look particularly strong, or flexible. We looked at him and thought “He’s the teacher?!” He had a Buddha belly.

The Vinyasa flow started. In about 2 seconds flat, we were making damn sure we exhaled completely–to let go of the irritation. We were challenged, and our egos were letting us know about it. He kept us challenged the entire class–not just our bodies, but our minds, too.

“Where is your breath? Is it stuck in your mind?”

“What can you do, today, to be of service? To your friends, to your family, to the guy who’s rude to you in the grocery line?”

Once again, our stereotypes had been shot to pieces.

Maybe that Buddha belly should have been a sign.