DAWN OF THE FIT
11/14/06 Washington Express, www.readexpress.com
IT'S 5:30 A.M. at the Spiral Flight Yoga studio on Wisconsin Avenue. Two yoga masters in kneeling poses chant Sanskrit [actually Gurmukhi] meditative phrases while a third lies very still on her mat. "I fell asleep," explained Kristen Maresca after class. "I was up until 11:45 last night. I almost didn't come today, but then I thought, 'I have to.'" Despite the ungodly hour, she said she feels more "with it" throughout the day than if she'd slept in.
Maresca, who teaches yoga on the side, is one of about a dozen advanced yogis who meet daily at 4 a.m. for two-and-a-half-hour yoga and meditation sessions. At 3 a.m., said Spiral Flight director Cristin Tighe, "your mind is in a hazy place," an active subconscious state that's ideal for meditation.
"Sadhana," loosely translated as "daily spiritual practice," is intended to help participants attain mental clarity. They start with 20 minutes of chanting, then move into a 45-minute practice. At 5:15 a.m., it's time for a 57-minute [actually 62-minutes] meditative chant, preferably while not moving from a kneeling pose [just for one of the 22-minute chants]. "We clean our bodies," said Tighe. "Why not clean our minds?"
But even non-yogis are setting their alarm clocks earlier to squeeze in exercise before long commutes and lengthy workdays kick in. Gyms are opening earlier — Results' U Street location is even staying open around the clock. And those seeking hardcore pre-dawn punishment would be hard-pressed to find a boot camp in the area that meets after
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