“When I saw her walk into the class, I knew. Later I told the teacher I would marry her.” Jagatjoti Khalsa first laid eyes on his wife when they were fellow students in yoga classes, fifteen years ago. It took a few gatherings before they crossed paths, but in the meantime, he says he couldn’t date anyone else. When he speaks about her today, while manning his store, Tara Home next to Sacred Movement/Exhale in Venice, his voice is reverent.
Khalsa’s story corroborates the advice often given to singles of both genders and any sexual orientation: “You should try a yoga class…it’s a great way to meet women…or men.” Meeting in yoga class means that people may find others who are on the same path, at least for the duration of the class. Whether or not yoga classes are the new singles bars as dramatized in some episodes of Sex and the City, it’s not infrequent for couples to meet on the mat.
Flirting
Even people who aren’t necessarily looking for it find love on the mat. Lee Witmer met her boyfriend Michael Tomson while visiting a yoga class on vacation. “This man with a beautiful head of grey hair was helping me with headstand, and I couldn’t resist. I ran my fingers through it and said, ‘Nice head of hair.’ We spoke after class, went on a date a few days later, then I had to fly home.” After phone calls and visits, now they live together in Hawaii. And they practice yoga together, which Witmer credits for the patience the practice has taught them.
There can be a fine line, though, between drawing one’s attention inward in yoga class and diving into a pick-up scene. Time on the mat can often be the most vulnerable moments of the day. Because of this, although Jagatjoti Khalsa encourages like - minded yogis to meet and greet, he’s critical of what he sees as the smarmy pick-up lines and gratuitous body - scoping sometimes seen around classes.
Out of context (or even in context), many yoga positions are compromising and provocative. While we are conditioned to find this titillating, yoga can instead help us to become more comfortable with and embrace our inner and outer sensuality. Victoria Davis’s book, Shakti: The Feminine Power of Yoga is a beautiful example of this sensuality, featuring artistic photographs of naked yoginis. Testifying to its beauty, I recently heard from a source who wishes to remain anonymous that many heterosexual male yogis have a copy of this book. Some yoga classes even capitalize on this celebration of the body in is purest form. Nude yoga classes and clubs range from the sensual to the sexual.
On the social level, studios such as Los Angeles’s Urban Bliss Yoga advertise Date Night Yoga. At Bliss, Landry Shri’s twice - weekly class is geared both to couples looking for a joint date night activity, as well as singles who want to connect with other yogis. The feeling of camaraderie and comfort during class can be the best ice - breaker.
Keyword: Yoga
Not everyone can count on locking eyes across the room while arching into dancer pose. Dating websites abound that allow surfers to input keyword: yoga in order to find a date who will sling the mat bag over a shoulder and head out to the studio together. Yogis advertise their interest with keywords, descriptions of their lifestyle and even their reading material. A recent search of a popular dating website found subscribers who cite the importance of their yoga practice and even a subscriber whose nightstand of latest reads included LA YOGA magazine.
Aside from tailoring a profile on match, Yahoo or even eharmony, there are sites dedicated to fitness buffs, sites dedicated to yogis, sites on which you can search by dosha, find someone immersed in the dharma or even MySpace equivalents in the yoga world. Options are available for all sexual orientations. This begs the question: do they work? From personal experience, I had a profile on a dating site (since locking eyes across the studio didn’t seem to be my fate) and most of the emails I received commented on my interest in yoga, several from yogis themselves. Unfortunately, I did have an email correspondent randomly end up in one of the yoga classes I was teaching, which made for a few awkward moments.
Make Me a Match
Yoga teachers are also known to act as matchmakers, from gurus famously suggesting matches, to a teacher who suggests two students try meeting for chai. I know of couples who are now married after a well - placed introduction by their mutual teacher. Jagatjoti Khalsa, too, is forthright about his matchmaking efforts. Khalsa does everything from encouraging single shoppers to share a post - yoga couch to hosting a Valentine’s Day party at the store.
Happily Ever After
Witmer’s story illustrates the old cliché: we always find love when we’re not looking. In fact, she had given up on finding romantic love. But just as yoga can help us stretch tight hamstrings, find inner quiet, touch our spirit or hear our inner om, practice can also open our hearts. When open hearts connect with another, it’s been known to be a match made in bliss.
