Breathing space.

Last night, my director took me and two other yoga instructors to her yoga class on the beach in Coronado.

I don't know where to start.

This was....phenomenal. Melissa, the instructor, was an outstanding teacher, possibly the best I've ever had. There were about 10 of us, men and women, holding poses on beach towels, staring out into the ocean. As we completed our dolphin pose, the real dolphins started hopping in and out of the water, quite close to the shore.

Halfway through the class, as the clouds rolled in, we took the practice into the water and held our tree poses as the waves crashed against our knees.

There are definite challenges to yoga on the sand. Balancing goes to a whole new level. I probably wouldn't recommend it for beginners. Luckily I was wearing sunglasses, or I would have ended up kicking all kinds of sand into my eyes. It's also a little hard on the wrists, as the heel of your hand tends to sink into the sand.

But that's all minor. The class lasted an hour and a half, but I had no sense of the time. It was over before I knew it; all I could think was that I wished she would keep teaching well into the night.

Amazing. I was overwhelmed. Yoga on the beach is certainly among the top ten experiences of my life.