Northpinellas: Weekend yogis find sea, sand and serenity

Ten strangers come together for an hour each weekend morning to spread out their yellow beach towels, set aside their daily stresses and begin a yoga class on the sand.

They breathe in and out as they lower their bodies into kneeling positions. They mimic the motions of their instructor, Ann Hodges, as they hunker down, heads and arms in front of them on the warm, white sand.

"It feels good just to nestle in the pose and squeeze all the tension out," Hodges says.

The rising sun shines above the pink Don CeSar Beach Resort and Spa in an almost cloudless sky. The waves lap against the shoreline, washing away the remnants of the previous day's sand castles.

"Just observe the breath as you soften all your thoughts," she says to her class. "Just let yourself breathe freely."

Yoga is a system of physical and mental exercises developed by the yoga school of thought in the Hindu religion, Hodges said. Followers of the school, called yogis, practice the exercises under the instruction of a guru.

Yogis focus on disciplined behavior, positive values, controlled breathing and senses, fixing the mind on a chosen object, meditation and concentration. They attempt to isolate the soul from the body and mind, Hodges said, making it pure, free and born-again.

Ellis Richman said Hodges' yoga class complements his Sunday morning relaxation regimen, in which he takes a couple of hours to jog, meditate, write poetry and read.

"The class is a natural culmination to my exercise routine," said Richman, who drives from Tampa to St. Pete Beach for the 9 a.m. class. "It gives me a chance to recharge my spirit and achieve the balance that I lose during the craziness of everyday life."

Richman spends his days driving throughouta Tampa Bay talking to customers for Arvida Realty Services.

A classmate, Kathy Kennedy, travels internationally, looking for new places for Verizon Communications to offer services.

Teresa Demonte takes blood pressure in a local medical office.

Linda Lowe cares for babies at a day care center.

Alice Vogel visits her doctors, trying to cure the breast cancer that she was found to have six months ago.

Mary Kate Sickel practices ballet in Green Bay, Wis., where she lives.

Their lives run in a thousand directions, converging for only an hour each week. The class is composed mainly of middle-aged business people, but anyone can attend for $10. Vacationers of all ages who are staying at the Don often drop in. Some practice yoga in their hometowns. Others are experiencing it for the first time.

Hodges came to the Don six years ago when another instructor left, but her interest in yoga began almost 40 years ago. She began studying in the 1960s in New York City, at the end of her career as a Broadway actor. After appearing in Applause, Chicago, Gone With the Wind, Hello, Dolly!, No Strings and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Hodges said she was ready to try something new.

She and her friends attended yoga classes at a New York studio to take a break, to relax and to let go. Hodges said she loved the way yoga made her feel. She has studied it ever since in New York, California, Virginia and Florida. She now serves as president of the Suncoast Yoga Teachers Association.

"Yoga started out as a wonderful complement to my hectic life in the theater," Hodges said. "Now it's my whole life."

Hodges teaches her students to make their bodies flow from one position to another. They shape themselves like swans, egrets, flowers.

For a tree pose, they stand on one leg, with the opposite foot resting against the knee. They reach toward the sky, then bring their hands back toward their hearts.

"Think of your most beautiful tree," Hodges said. "That's what we are, because we are constantly melding with nature."

Kennedy wobbled just a little as she focused on Hodges. She then released her suspended leg, stretched her arms up and breathed in and out slowly.

"Keeping your balance and staying focused are two things most people don't do very well," Kennedy said. "It took me a while to concentrate hard enough."

On weekend mornings, Kennedy reluctantly climbs out of bed as her alarm sounds and debates whether she should go to class. The lethargy that accompanies her tight muscles reminds her that she needs a workout.

"It's a quiet kind of workout," she said. "But I like it. The beach, the waves, the Don and the stretching. It's the perfect way to start my morning."

The stretches and breathing exercises are called yoga nidra, or psychic sleep, Hodges said. The yoga focuses on deep relaxation and inner awareness.

Toward the end of class, Hodges tells her students to imagine a wheel of energy, a ball of swirling chakras, which is made up of different colors and can affect mood.

She tells them to imagine a red, burning ball of energy fading into a yellow Q, which slowly transforms into an orange melon, a silver crescent, a red inverted pyramid and a sapphire star. Exhilaration transforms into security, creativity, energy and passion.

The bodies on the beach breathe in and out as they kick their legs and shake their arms, releasing any remaining tension.

The students say they feel fresh, rejuvenated, calm, and peaceful yet awake. An "om" from Hodges marks the end of class.

"Lead us from the unreal to the real, from darkness into light, from the fear of death to the vitality of life," she says. "Let the entire universe be filled with peace and joy, love and life, and may it all begin with us."

The students sit in front of Hodges, silent as they concentrate on their breathing for the last couple of minutes of the hour. Then they leave in different directions, unlikely to meet again until yoga class brings them together.

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