Sleep Yoga Errand Finished

Mentioning: Hjørdis Jensen

Of all the activities Maria thought she’d try at Hogwarts, she didn’t think yoga would be one of them. She had never done yoga before, but she’d definitely heard about it. Young adults used to come into their diner bringing their mats after a session, or the older regulars would say how it made them feel “20 years younger”. Back then, Maria didn’t exactly see the appeal. A bunch of sweaty people stretching around was not her idea of fun. But, she was curious. So naturally, when the announcement for the event was made, she wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

When she came into the rehearsal room, she saw that mats were scattered around the room. They looked different from the ones she saw people carrying back home, but they looked soft and comfortable either way. Professor Jensen was just about to start and other students were already there, so the young badger took an unoccupied mat and listen to the Professor. Choosing a spot a little towards the back, she sat cross-legged waiting for instruction. The first thing they were told to do was close their eyes. It was easy enough. Next they were told to breathe. Okay, also easy. Maria’s breaths came in deep and steady tides, coming and going, inhale and exhale. They stayed like that for a while, and just when the young witch felt herself about to drift off, she heard Professor Jensen give instructions.

Cracking one eye open she saw that the older woman and her fellow students had already started moving and getting into position. Directing her gaze to the front of the room she saw the Professor already in position. From what she could tell, her right leg was folded in front of her, with her left leg extended to the back, and she had leaned forward into her hip. Slowly, Maria put herself into the position, and at first she wasn’t quite sure what it was supposed to do, but when she bent down, she found out. There was an uncomfortable stretch on her right leg, around the area where her legs bent at her hips. Surprisingly, she did the pose without too much trouble. When they switched to the other side however, she couldn’t go down as much, and it hurt a bit more. Well, at least she didn’t creak.

From there, Professor Jensen told them to “roll back up” and demonstrated it herself. The young badger tried to copy the white-haired woman’s movements but naturally, her head was still looking at the Professor. Not the best roll, but still a roll indeed. The Slytherin Head of House then told them position their legs hip width apart, before she folded her torso down and touched the floor. It looked easy enough, and it was familiar. Fond memories of times spent with her coach and swim team crossed her mind as she did the pose. Her fingers were able to touch the floor, and after a few breaths she could plant them flat. Her hamstrings on the back of her things felt properly stretched, and it was a feeling she hadn’t encountered in a while. Then they were told to sway. The Asian girl didn’t exactly understand why they had to do this, but it was part of the thing, so she did it anyway. She also hoped that they would change positions soon. In her imagination she could see the blood was rushing to her head. The Professor also kept telling them to breathe, inhale and exhale. This made Maria wonder if it was a yoga thing or maybe she was breathing wrong? They did exercises for breathing to prepare for swim meets, so maybe this was like that? Luckily before she could go down the rabbit hole of consciously assessing her breathing, they moved to the next pose.

It looked… painful. It also looked like the pose they did earlier, but with a bent foot. Carefully, the badger girl positioned herself as the Professor did. Her knee was at a 90 degree angle, not going over her toes, and body in sort of a lunge. Of course by this time she was wobbling, trying to maintain her balance. The familiar feeling of a stretch was now felt on her extended leg, at the top of her thing and at the same place it was earlier. Her hands were planted firmly on the floor, supporting her weight and preventing her from just toppling over. Once again, they were told to breathe. In and out. (As if there was any other way to breathe).

The poses after that were much more relaxing, she decided. One of pose involved them putting their legs up on the wall. Also a stretch that felt similar to the one they did standing up where they touched the floor. Again, the Professor kept telling them to breathe in and out. She may or may not have dozed off at some point but since no one saw, then she would rather say she didn’t.

The one after that stretched their backs, and kind of strained her neck. It made her feel a little unsteady though, and she felt her muscles shake. It had been a while since she’d done anything close to exercise, and it was something new. They were finally put of their misery and allowed to lie flat on the mat. Maria could have sworn her eyes tried to close. But no, she would persevere. From there they were instructed to do something similar to touching their toes, but seated. While she could touch her flexed toes, she couldn’t exactly touch her forehead to her knees. This position was uncomfortable like its predecessors but it wasn’t too bad either.

From there she would continue to do the poses until the end. Afterwards, she would be tired, likely sweaty and ready to change into some warm clothes for bed. She would decide that yoga wasn’t so bad, and maybe she would try to do it again. She would then thank Professor Jensen, head to her dorm, change and have one of the best sleeps she would have at Hogwarts.

(Of course she’d also probably wake up with muscle aches but that’s a different thing entirely).

Alan, if he was being honest, quickly grew tired and just wanted to go to sleep. It was getting late after all and he should get enough sleep for his classes. Possibly he was going to regret leaving early but he kind of just wanted to leave now before he would fall asleep on his yoga mat like he saw other students do. That could hardly be comfortable and knowing himself he would have trouble sleeping after being woken up by the professor once the yoga class was over.

As he looked around he could see that Tiger had wandered off quite far, having reached the pair of professors @Hjørdis Jensen and @Caradoc Browne where he would walk over the latters yoga mat to find a new victim he could bother. Quickly making a path through the exercising students he would go to the head of houses and pick of his cat with a sheepish expression. "Apologies, Miss Jensen", he would mutter to her quietly before he would make his way out of the room with the feline gently, yet firmly hold against his chest so that he could carry the creature carefully and securely back to his dormitories which would be his next destination. Yoga had been fun more or less, not as good as running but it had been relaxing and therefore fulfilled its purpose quite well.

Opeila was glad that the prefect would let her take one of the mats next to her. She told Opeila about the upcoming exams and how prefect duties were stressful. The Slytherin could totally not imagine being a prefect. For one, she was possibly one of the students causing the most trouble in her year and then she just couldn't imagine taking that much responsibility. She couldn't imagine people actually listening to her, a little first year, if she'd try to remind people of rules. Her opinion of one of her own house's prefects was quite low. Not because of her age though, Opeila did not mind listening to the autorities- maybe put a toe over the line from time to time- it had been the way the girl seemed to think, that she stood over all of them. That her position allowed her, to force herself into conversations or even interrupt them completely. Opeila did simply not agree with that.

Gris didn't seem to be that sort of prefect though. Opeila hadn't seen her put herself above others because of her position ever. Alright, maybe she had not seen the Gryffindor a lot, but the impression she had made so far was a good one. The Slytherin liked to spend time with Gris.
"Are the second year exams very hard? I found the first year ones quite doable so far...", she asked the older girl. "You are getting three new subjects next year, right? Care of magical creatures, divination and muggle studies? I can't wait to have divination..." Opeila had met Professor Kibitzer once before and found the older woman quite interesting. As Opeila was a seer herself, she was really curious to hear what experiences Professor Kibitzer had made with her powers. For now the first year didn't really know how to interpret the vision she had a few months ago.

Another person caught Gris' attention it seemed, a boy that Opeila had briefly met before as well. The boy who crushed the rose he had only given the Gryffindor a few minutes before... What was his name again? Alan... Vanes? No, Vanes was a different one... The boy across the room, who picked up a cat, that was Alan Vanes. But he was another Alan, right?
She couldn't help a little smirk when she saw his Ninja Turtle outfit. Opeila had seen an episode or two of the series, but she had never liked it a lot. The outfit was adorable though.
Gris greeted him and complemented his outfit. Opeila waved at the Ravenclaw and sent him a smile, before she turned her attention to Professor Jensen to gave the two some privacy. The Slytherin had no idea really what the two second years were, but the rose on Valentine's day was enough for her to guess what Alan thought of Gris.

Her eyes widened at the new position the others had taken. No, no, this was enough for her. She was probably not really the yoga type.
She got up from her mat. "I'll go back to my common room, I've still got some homework to do. It was nice to talk to you again, Gris. Have fun, you two1" With that, Opeila left the room.

WC: 540+522=1066 Words
Errand Complete!
@Griseldis Edelhardt @Alan Noble
Opeila is leaving the thread.

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𝓐madea had heard about the sleep yoga errand and was debating whether or not she should attend. To be honest, Amadea wasn't exactly sure what sleep yoga was or how it was different from regular yoga. Amadea had never done much yoga before; she knew that it was supposed to be quite relaxing but every time she had tried it, she just felt the pain of being the least flexible person on the planet. Even just bending over made her remember how tight her muscles always were. Maybe doing some yoga would be beneficial for her flexibility.

The amount of time Amadea spent debating whether or not she should attend the errand coincidentally equaled around the amount of time Amadea was late to the actual errand itself. Perhaps it was karma, telling her she should have made up her mind sooner, but as Amadea hurried to the rehearsal room, she knew that she was more than fashionably late. She couldn't blame this one on a clock that was a few minutes slow or accidentally going to the wrong room (not that she would do such a thing anyway; her moral compass wouldn't allow her to). No, this was a different kind of late. She had never been this late to anything before and she debated whether she should even go in at all.

By the time she peeked into the room, the students were already doing the last three poses. Was it even worth it coming at this point? With a sigh, Amadea set down her mat. Maybe some yoga could help calm her down from the stress she was feeling from being late to the errand. She tried to be quiet, not wanting to disturb anyone who had been there for the full amount of time and tried to get into the mood. She decided to start with some quick stretches before joining in with the rest of the students; Amadea wasn't sure if she could go straight into a pose without stretching first, though she wasn't sure she'd be able to do it after stretching either. After she had warmed up a little, the students were moving onto a pose called Up Against the Wall. Even though it was listed as a partner pose, Amadea was next to the wall so she moved her legs so they were parallel with it and rested her arms down by her side. Focusing on her breathing, Amadea counted as she breathed in and out. As much as she wished she could say she felt relaxed, all she could feel was her legs pressing against the wall and the sound of her breath as she worked hard to keep her legs in that position. What was it about yoga that appealed to so many people again?

They were moving onto the next pose, so Amadea swung her legs down from the wall and watched as they went into the Before Bed Bridge. This one looked much simpler, and Amadea followed Professor Jensen and Professor Browne's instructions as she popped her hips up and placed her hands by her sides again. While this pose was definitely more comfortable than the one she had previously done, she still couldn't undestand the appeal of this pose either. Sure it was more comfortable than the first one, but it still wasn't comfortable at all. Her neck felt like it was being pressed into the ground at an odd angle because of the way she had to angle her hips toward the sky. Amadea wondered if anyone actually did this pose before bed; she would never do that. It was definitely more painful than it was relaxing.

After a few more painful minutes, it was finally time for the last pose of the yoga session. Even though Amadea had been there for a minimal amount of time, her muscles were burning and she was ready for it to be over. The last pose was called the Seated Forward Fold and Amadea excitedly got into position, stretching out her legs in front of her and leaning down toward them as she breathed in and out. This pose was something that Amadea could handle. It definitely helped that the last two poses had stretched out her muscles more and made her a bit more comfortable, but this last pose was the one that Amadea really started to get into. As she pressed her hands into the mat and her face into her knees, she felt a calm washing over her and she began to understand why people liked yoga so much. It felt good to be stretched out; Amadea had worked herself into a sweat from these poses.

As the class came to a close, Amadea suddenly felt as though she wasn't ready for it to be over. Now that her muscles were properly stretched out, she wanted to continue doing some more poses. Unfortunately, she was the one who hadn't been keeping track of the time and showed up late to the class. Maybe she could continue doing some more yoga poses once she got back to the Hufflepuff Common Room. From a quick glance around, Amadea noticed some of her fellow Hufflepuffs had attended the class. Maybe it was because Professor Browne was one of the instructors and their Head of House, but she wondered if they would be interested in doing yoga sometimes in the Common Room together. Maybe Amadea could even look into a yoga club at the school. As she packed up her mat and got ready to leave, Amadea couldn't help but smile. She had come into this with an open mind, even though she knew she wasn't very flexible and had little idea about sleep yoga was. Even though she had her doubts throughout the class as well as her doubts about attending in the first place, she was glad she had pushed herself to get out of her comfort zone and do this. Now that it was over, she felt like she had learned a lot and now she had a new activity that she could try. [size]

❋

WC: 1022 | Exeunt Amadea

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Serena had overheard some of her fellow badgers talking about an event that was taking place after dinner. It was called sleep yoga, and it was taking place in the Rehearsal Room on the fourth floor. The first-year wasn’t sure what yoga was, but she knew what sleep was. And boy, did she need it. After all of the events that Serena had gone through lately, rest had started to become a rare thing.

It had first begun with the Masquerade Ball in October. What was supposed to be a fun evening had gone up in flames, and that unfortunately wasn’t a metaphor. However, she had just started to get her sleeping problems under control when another fire broke out in early April. But this time, it was in a place that she had considered safe: the Hufflepuff Common Room. And then, to make matters worse, later that month, she had gone to another ball where Vampire Mosps had attacked.

Needless to say, most of Serena’s nights were restless and filled with little, if any, sleep. And whenever she did sleep, there was always some sort of a nightmare involving dancing and attacking Mosps lit aflame.

So, the twelve-year-old was in desperate need of a good night’s rest, and she hoped that whatever this errand entailed would help her achieve it, even if it was for only one night. So after she had finished eating in the Great Hall, she went back to her Common Room. Serena had heard that pajamas were to be the evening’s attire, so she quickly changed into a long-sleeved, pink buttoned-up shirt with dark pink stripes and strawberries and a matching pair of long pajama pants. She also slipped her feet into a pair of white, fluffy bunny slippers with a pink bow on their head.

Serena then wandered over to the Rehearsal Room. She saw Professor Jensen sitting on what appeared to be a mat. Looking further around the room, she noticed that the place had several mats. The badger wandered over and sat down at an empty one and waited for the session to begin. Eventually, Professor Jensen invited everyone to close their eyes. Serena did so and followed the professor’s breathing, trying her best to focus on her breath. Doing that alone almost caused the girl to fall asleep right there, but she opened her eyes when asked, and tried to copy the pose that the Head of Slytherin was doing.

Serena placed her left foot on her right inner thigh. She brought her right leg back, extending it outwards. The twelve-year-old put her head on the pillow near her yoga mat and brought her arms forward. Breathing in and out, she felt herself calming down a little bit. She then switched sides and repeated the same process. Maybe there was something to this whole yoga thing.

However, Serena had noticed that it was a little challenging to do the poses with her big fluffy slippers on. So before the next pose began, the badger quickly kicked them off, trying her best not to hit another student accidentally.

Serena then began to slowly roll her way back up. It was a strange sensation, but not in a bad way. It was actually quite lovely. Eventually, she came to be in a standing position. The first-year spread her feet out a couple of inches, doing her best to align them with her hips. She then folded herself over, her fingertips touching the mat. She would have tried to spread her palms out, but she felt a slight strain and thought it would be best not to push it. Serena tried swaying a bit. She exhaled, feeling the tension leaving her back and neck as she lengthened her spine.

Serena followed Professor Jensen and brought her right foot parallel to her right hand, her thigh as close to parallel as she could get. Her left leg was extended outward, but only up to her knee was touching the mat, the rest at a slight angle. Serena felt a gentle stretch in her hamstrings and quads. She held the position for twenty seconds, inhaling and exhaling the whole time, before switching sides. After another twenty seconds, Serena got out of the position. She then moved up against the nearest wall. The first-year slowly lifted up her legs, placing them against the wall. She also laid her arms down at her sides, with her palms facing upwards. She held her legs there for about fifteen seconds before slowly lowering them down.

As instructed, Serena stayed lying on her back, her arms still in the same position as well. Then, as if an invisible string was pulling her, she lifted her hips and back off of the ground, making sure that her shoulders stayed down and that her feet were firmly in place. She was thankful that her abs were in pretty decent shape from Quidditch practice. Serena inhaled and exhaled ten times before lowering back down. She then slowly sat back up.

Serena extended her legs outward, flexing her feet a bit. Then she folded forward, her arms reaching towards her toes. The twelve-year-old felt a gentle stretch in her back. She was also starting to feel sleepy. At this point, she struggled to keep her eyes open, but Serena wanted to reach the end of the routine, so she did her best to fight the feeling for just a bit longer.

After a while, Serena brought herself back up. Fighting back a yawn, she moved her legs inwards into a seated position. Maybe she could just close her eyes for a little bit. At least until Professor Jensen demonstrated the next pose. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. And so, Serena shut her eyes and quickly let the sleep that she so desperately needed overtake her. She was in a very deep sleep, almost entirely oblivious to what was happening in the room. Thankfully, at least for now, no fires or Mosps were filling her head. And hopefully, it would stay that way.

Mentioning: @Hjørdis Jensen
WC: 1009/1000 Errand Completed
Thread essentially left, due to falling asleep.

After a long debate with himself about whether or not attending a so-called sleep yoga session, Elias had finally caved to his own whims and decided he would attend. After heading back to his dorm briefly after dinner, the young Ravenclaw wizard had returned to the room that the sleep yoga was being held in wearing a pair of pale blue plaid pyjama bottoms and a plain grey t shirt, unfortunately, these were the closest things the boy had to workout clothes at Hogwarts. He spent most of his time wearing his robes. Ultimately the fact that any sort of exercise would keep him somewhat in shape and perhaps help the boy make his house's quidditch team next year had swayed him in favour of showing his face here, despite what his friends might have said about it.

Keeping almost entirely to himself Elias took a seat on one of the many soft mats that had been spread throughout the room and glanced around himself. At least he wasn’t the only person here… that would have made this really strange, and also immensely uncomfortable for not only the boy, but also for the people who were hosting the event. A rather stoic expression was plastered to the boy's face, but he was truly hoping he did get something out of attending this, pyjama party? Well whatever one could consider this, Elias was hoping to get some sort of benefit from it.

As Hjørdis began to lead the lesson, Elias was fervently paying attention. As she instructed the students to take deep breaths, breathing in and out, he did his best to follow her instructions to the t as the boy had always been somewhat of a perfectionist. It was only when he disagreed with others or thought what they were doing or saying was wrong or pointless that he ignored their instructions.

First up was the sleeping swan pose, what did that even mean? Coming to the conclusion that he would not recognize any of the names of the poses, because he had never been to a single yoga class in his entire 12 year long laugh, the young wizard scooted a tad closer so that he could see exactly what the session leaders were doing and how they were going about achieving the poses. After watching Hjørdis locate herself a pillow, Elias did just the same before preparing himself to attempt the position.

Bringing his foot up to his inner thigh and slowly bending himself forwards, Elias was suddenly very regretful that he had not spent more time stretching in the days that had led up to this yoga session. He was experiencing quite an extreme pull in the calf of the leg he had brought towards his thigh honestly, he wasn’t even sure he could hold it for eight to ten breaths like Hjørdis had suggested. Eventually, after six breaths, he tapped out before deciding to switch to the other side. Just like before, Elias could feel the pose pulling in his calf, however this time it was the right one. This time, he was able to hold it for a full 9 breaths and the second that he accomplished that, the boy popped out of the pose, placing his head on the pillow and letting out a rather deep and pained sigh. This was agony and suddenly he wished he was back in his dorm arguing with Thomas. It would surely be less painful than yoga, or perhaps not… simply being around Thomas Baines was agony. Oh well, that was besides the point. He was here now and he had to stick with his decision.

After allowing himself a few moments rest simply face down in the pillow that he had acquired to do the pose the young wizard raised his head once more and glanced around, inwardly he was hoping that he was not that only person struggling so much with what seemed like such a basic stretch. It seemed like his natural athleticism did not transfer to yoga in the slightest bit. Once again following Hjørdis instructions Elias tried his best to roll back up. Thankfully, that came a tad more naturally to the boy but he still struggled a little. The further into this gathering he got, he simply could not help but think that he would never in his life be attending another yoga session.

As the professor said that this was meant to be a basic stretch to warm their bodies up, Elias became even more disgruntled. He was wishing he had stretched before he had come here to stretch even more? Did that even make sense in the slightest? Letting out a groan that he hoped was not audible to anyone but himself, he prepared himself for the next pose that it appeared Hjørdis was about to begin explaining and demonstrating.

Once again, he struggled with the pose, for certain there was absolutely no chance of Elias somehow getting his head down to the floor. That would take an absolute miracle, or the boy transfiguring himself into a slinky of some sort. Both seemed about as likely to happen as him and Thomas suddenly becoming best friends. And that was to say it would be virtually impossible. As he held the pose, Elias’ eyes drifted to the many cats that seemed to be wandering around the room and suddenly he wished he had one. It would be oh so nice to simply curl up with a nice warm cat at night and fall asleep.

At the thought of sleep, and growing rather tired from the rhythmic breathing and the whopping two yoga poses that he had managed to complete. Trying his best to do so without disturbing anyone, Elias slowly lowered himself to the ground and placed his head upon the pillow he had been using as a yoga aid earlier. It didn’t take long for the boy to drift off and soon enough he was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the remainder of the students doing yoga around him.

WC: 1008
I sincerely apologize for doing this at absolutely the last possible minute... but hey, errand complete.

((Open for Interaction))


Yes. Yes yes yes. Today will be the day the great task. Another class, another chance to prove herself to the masses. Erika was all ready for this. After dinner, which was far far harder than anything else in Hogwarts so far, Erika was charged. She had successfully sat at the Ravenclaw table, and only managed to lose a couple tears this time. After that, this yoga thing should be a cinch. No matter what it was. Erika was on fire today!

After a little while, Erika peaked in to scope out the situation, and after a temporary retreat to gather her flimsy nerves, she darted inside. Having little idea of what yoga was, she, unfortunately, hadn't changed from the simple casual robes she wore. Lot of loose fabric that hung near her ankles. Fancy enough to look at, befitting of a pure blood like herself, if a bit on the impractical side. At least it wasn't escalators, something Erika was fortunate enough to never meet.

Erika loitered near the door, her ever present escape route, as well as to keep an eye on those that sauntered in after her. Particularly to keep a look at the other Ravenclaws. She hadn't managed to remember any names from teachers calling on the class, but she would for sure do it today. Starting now, as she attempted a hello to the first that wandered in.

"H-he..." Next one for sure, she would manage to greet. Always the next one. After a couple of her pathetic attempts, Erika was at her wit's end. The shaking she'd avoided during dinner, avoided a tiny little bit at the beginning at least, at dinner took her over. A familiar sight to other first year ravenclaw's that took notice of quiet ones during class. Erika shaking like a little mouse cornered by a cat.

Luckily, shaky Erika was saved from herself when Hjørdis made the call to gather everyone. She was slow on the uptake, and wound up with a seat right near the middle. At least it wasn't at the front, for her own sake. Erika took a seat with her hands folded in her lap, with her ankles politely crossed and knees together. "Good evening." Erika attempted a response, but it was hardly above a quiet whimper.

This had been a bad idea. Is it too late to run? These bunch of weirdies wouldn't need her anyway! Right? Though she thought of a grandiose exit, truth be told, she was frozen to her mat and could move no more than a little mouse in a trap, helplessly watching the thin steel bar barrage forward in that deathly arc. She shut her eyes tight, feeling the sting of tears. This had definitely been a bad idea.

Just as she was about to break, Erika heard the commanding voice of Hjørdis. Inhale. In her state, Erika would have followed the sound of a black dog if it had asked. She drew in a raggedy breath that matched her quivers. 1... 2... How long to inhale? Her lungs were full and she was struggling to draw in more. Relief. Please, please relief! When she was beyond her limits but too scared to disobey in front of everyone she heard the command of exhalation.

"Ha..." a bit exaggerated with a little squeak, but it did its job. Hjørdis' command to focus helped bring her back to reality, and outside of her vivid imagination of everything going horrible in the most unrealistically ways possible. Her cheeks reddened as she did her best to concentrate. When she opened her eyes, the stinging of tears were gone, and her bright blue eyes shined, staring widely at the teacher. What sort of magic was this?

She mimicked the teacher in position, holding the pillow close until she copied the placement, lagging behind others a bit. Wait and observe. This way, she'll do it completely right, and make no mistakes whatsoever! She'd be the best for sure. The others will certainly be begging to be her friend then. Erika thought she just might be merciful enough to grant that request.

The pose, while a beginner pose, was much more difficult than Erika was intending. It seemed simple enough, and then she started her attempt at replication. Almost at once, Erika felt the pain as her body resisted to release the tension. In all fairness, it wasn't just her body resisting, but her clothing too. Robes with fabric that pinched, however comfortable they were, were not made for this awful position. As Erika would learn as the lesson continued, any position!

Erika slipped out of the pose, her bent knee jerking itself straight, and slapping against the mat. "Ah!" More of a complaint than a cry of pain. She rolled over, pulling off the outer layer of her robes, and bundling it, and heaved it next to herself. Free at last, she quickly looked around, her cheeks flushed to an entirely different shade of red, standing out against her pale skin. She quickly folded back into the mirrored swan pose. Easier without the folds of her outer robes getting in the way, but still difficult to manage for her.

It took time, but Erika finally made it to her feet. A triumph. Was that all this class was? This was easy. She could do this in her sleep! Right? As she was self congratulating, Erika stumbled as a knee shook. She took a moment leaning on the one that decided to be kinder.

She spread her feet apart, pointing her eyes to them, instead of around the room, willing herself to forget the crowd for just a moment. Until.

"Mister Sharp-Leaf! About half that"

Erika felt herself flush again snapping straight. If Hjørdis' words weren't the one's grounding her in reality, she might have just darted away the moment she heard her name. Thankfully, it was not so. "I-I-It's m-miss!" She called, her voice a higher octave than even her own normal, shutting her eyes tightly. She tried again without opening her eyes, this time, no complaint. Or maybe Hjørdis was simply having mercy on the seismic girl. Probably the latter, Erika thought. Relaxation was hardly her strong suit.

This one was a bit gentler on herself than the first. The robes didn't get caught up on herself at all. Erika liked it much more. What was it called? Eh, didn't matter, she was going to call it the Good One.

The next one used the blocks. She got through it pretty well. Or at least, Erika thought she was. Until...

"Keep your hips square, Miss Sharp-Leaf." Erika heard the teacher said, and snapped straight again. After a moment, she let her feet part again and tried once more. This was easy, right? Erika thought, though wondered how much her body would complain later. She wasn't used to stretches and pulls. It was different than just running around on her lonesome.

The next one? No way was she going to ask someone! No way, no how! Still, she felt just a little jealous of Caradoc. Erika liked Hjørdis, even if the teacher had to correct her. Good thing too, Erika was small, and hardly a freaky muscle head. Should she have been paired with an older student, then it might have ended far worse. Erika scampered over to a wall, finding a choice patch.

Another reason to pick a wall instead was Erika's choice of dress. The skirts of her robes were what she'd worn all her life, being raised in the magical community. She held the hems up the best she could hoping her bloomers remained unseen. Once done, poor Erika flopped on the ground, lying down at first on her side, then her back as instructed. There was no relaxation in that one, but impressions were important after all. And Erika was determined to impress Hjørdis.

Before Bed Bridge. Maybe? Erika thought the sleeping part had been a joke. She looked around frantically around realizing people were in pajamas. Some strange ones, mud bloods Erika supposed, and others had proper nightgowns like civilized beings. "Ehh...." Erika felt herself panic, and tried the inhalation thing again. She held it as long as she could, not so long given her state, before exhaling once it began to hurt. It helped a little. She could pretend it helped, and if she pretended hard enough, it meant it was real.

This was another one that seemed easier. Like the 'Good One'. A bit more suited to her tastes. From her spot near the wall, afraid to return to her mat, Erika lifted her back up, but felt a strange resistance. It wasn't beyond her stretch limit, she could feel that much, yet it was still there. After relaxing herself a moment, she tried again, and a loud 'pop' like a candy bar breaking in its package sounded. "Mm..." Erika whimpered. It hurt, but it immediately turned to relief, as if a pressure was removed. Surely no one heard that, right?

Erika looked to Hjørdis, locking eyes for a brief moment before looking away just as sudden. Maybe she'd try another time to impress this teacher. She closed her eyes, unwilling to push her luck, and returned to the bridge.

Erika sat up after the brief rest, returning to her first position. Ankles crossed, knees together, and hands neatly folded. Her hair was in disarray this time around, but she concentrated for a moment, and it righted itself back into its normal cut.

This next one, was a stretch her dad had taught her to limber up before a run. For the first time, a little smile was put on her lips. This class was fun! No need to try and answer questions in front of everyone, or work with someone. She held the forward fold for as long as she comfortably could. Not overly flexible, but something her knees were used to at least. Relaxed quite a bit more now, Erika looked up towards Hjørdis with a smile on her lips, ready for more.

[WC = 1678]

Carolyn had trouble sleeping for past few weeks. It also didn’t help that she constantly pushed herself to study until late at night. At first, she tried to ignore those problems but then she realized she was losing focus and it might affect her performance in classes. Unacceptable, she reprimanded herself. Today though, she was quite lucky. Apparently, there was a sleeping yoga class going on to help students relax a little. "No wonder…with all that’s been going on," she muttered under her breath. There was no reason not to join. Would it help? She didn’t know but frankly, she was running out of ideas. And so, she picked up her exercise outfit and marched towards the rehearsal room.

Once again, Carolyn was incredibly grateful for her ballet training. She never really tried yoga but she knew it required a good balance and at times some stretching was also involved. She was absolutely confident that she would have no trouble with those. In fact, her own stretching routine probably involved some yoga positions however; they were always a little bit more intense. Ballet warm-up was not there to make you relax; on the contrary, it was done to prepare your body for all the hard work that would follow and warm up your muscles so you wouldn’t get hurt later. In a way, it was also tough work. This, she assumed, would be a very different experience.

When she entered the rehearsal room, there were already a plenty of students occupying the yoga mats. Thankfully, not all of them were taken. “Good evening,” she greeted everyone shyly. Despite the uncertainty in her voice however, her step was light, her back was straight and head held high. It was not a confidence matter; she was simply trained to always hold a good body position. Without another word, the young Ravenclaw found herself a free mat near the wall. She was a bit nervous but excited at the same time and so when Hjørdis started to talk, she listened carefully in order to not miss any important instructions. It appeared the Head of Slytherin really knew what she was doing. Her explanations were clear and what she didn’t get from the words, Carolyn easily understood after the demonstration.

The first breathing exercise seemed a bit unnatural to Carolyn. She knew how to breathe properly while doing her stretches but she never just stopped and did it to relax. It was nice though. After she got used to the stillness of her body and stopped overthinking everything her muscles finally started to loosen up. This is nice…I should do it more often, she thought to herself. The first position called the sleeping swan wasn’t all that difficult but then she assumed none of them would be. The students were here to unwind not to torture themselves. As instructed, Carolyn counted her breaths to eight before changing her legs. Making sure to remember the position in case she ever wanted to try again in her spare time. After she was done, she stood up slowly rolling herself up vertebra after vertebra. She knew very well what could happen if she was not careful and she did get dizzy sometimes if she stood up too fast. The next position was called Standing Forward Fold. She looked around and noticed some students struggled with laying their palms on the ground but it was not surprising. She used to be like that too in the past. Now? It was incredibly easy but still definitely useful move. This one, she sometimes did as well. The third position was a bit trickier. Not because it was more difficult but because she was still getting used to the gentle nature of the yoga exercise. The Lizard Pose reminded her of somewhat of an incomplete spit and so she had a tendency to put her front leg too far forward. “press your left heel away and keep your hips square...” She heard Hjørdis’ voice, slowly adjusting her position and making sure she wasn’t overdoing it. Breathe..in and out...

"You are all doing wonderfully. Especially if this is your first times." Carolyn didn’t allow herself to accept that particular praise. She knew very well that she had plenty of experience to help her with the exercise. She did however admire all the students that did try for the first time. She wasn’t sure if she would come here without any kind of exercise experience herself. She always strived for perfection and was unreasonably scared to fail...especially in front of others. It was an unhealthy mindset to have but she simply couldn't help it. Her parents were not strict with her but they were her role models and they always pushed themselves to do the best job possible. Especially her Korean father, who was basically raised to be perfect. No mistakes allowed. He did not require his daughter to be the same but the young witch unconsciously tried anyway. She did want to be like him and make her parents proud. After few seconds Carolyn finally realized she wasn't fully present. This was not the time to her lost in her thoughts. Quickly she shook her head, fully focusing on the class again.

Following the first three positions, were another two that seemed easier than the Lizard one. Up Against the Wall and Before Bed Bridge. Some students paired up for the first of the two but Carolyn was too shy to ask for help. She didn’t bring a friend with her and she was not comfortable with asking a stranger. The wall would have to do…The last position they practiced was actually very familiar to Carolyn. Except she was not used to flexing her feet. Usually, she would point her toes instead and stretch her arms to hold the end of her feet, basically folding herself in half. She could do the alternative though. It wouldn’t come as natural but she could do it. “Umm…I will put my head on my knees if you don’t mind. I do ballet and it actually feels more natural that way to me,” she informed @ Hjørdis quietly in order not to disturb others before laying her head on her knees. She didn’t want to do so before warning her since she obviously worried about students getting hurt. This way she would know there was no reason to worry about her specifically.

INTERACTIONS @Hjørdis Jensen

There were some things that you could be good at and still hate. Ivy decided that yoga fell straight under this category for her - she found the stretches easy enough, but it was so boring, not to mention awkward, too. What was with all the weird breathing techniques and everything? And why was it so goddamn slow? In fact, it was probably the slow nature of yoga that made the young Gryffindor so uneasy. She couldn't relax no matter how hard she tried, despite following Professor Jensen's instructions for breathing and completing the poses. Ivy sighed again and tugged at her braids, regretting her decision to come here tonight.

Ivy folded herself into each position Professor Jensen demonstrated dutifully, not having the courage to walk out in front of so many of her classmates. While she honestly doubted that any of them would care, it was also her own pride that she had to consider as well. Ivy had never quit anything or left it half done before, no matter how much she wanted to. It just wasn't how she did things - you either completed it perfectly, or you didn't do it at all. Even though she was bored out of her mind, she knew she would stay and finish the errand. It was a little annoying how predictable she was sometimes.

She kept her eyes down when the Professor Jensen mentioned partnerwork, hoping that no one would want to work with her. Bleh. Ivy hated partnerwork - most of the time, she had to slow down for the other person and explain everything she was doing, which was beyond annoying for someone who preferred to work ahead, like her. It also required actually talking to other people in a polite way, which was far too much effort. She was rather relieved when she was left alone and nobody approached her, and proceeded to prop her legs up against the wall.

At some point during the errand, she looked up and was startled to discover that some of the other attendees were, well... asleep. What the hell? Yes, the name of the errand was "Sleep Yoga", but Ivy hadn't expected people to actually sleep here! How could they have relaxed this much? Was she really the only person who couldn't follow the instructions properly? Ivy blinked at her classmates and prodded a nearby Ravenclaw tentatively, wondering if she should wake them. Nope. She was out cold. Wait, were they supposed to go to sleep? You know what, I don't even know anymore, Ivy thought to herself with an exasperated sigh. She put up her hand, trying to catch the attention of the Head of Slytherin. "Err... Professor Jensen? Are they... supposed to be asleep?"

ERRAND PROGRESS︱621 + 456 = 1,077
Complete!

Interacting With:@ Griseldis Edelhardt | @ Opeila Seilun
Mentioning: @Hjørdis Jensen

Alan found himself growing increasingly comfortable. The young lad admittedly pondered before coming to Sleep Yoga whether this was going to work or whether Professor Jensen was making things up when the session had posted in the bulletin board. Proven wrong of course as most of the frustration was slowly lifting off his conscience not wholly, though temporarily it was a moment of bliss for Alan.

Like Alan's best friend Gris, the Ravenclaw had come to terms that they were nigh inseparable from each other. Seeing Gris made Alan immediately forget that the room had other students in it, recognising a Slytherin Girl on the other side he offered the first year a gentle wave with a warm smile to compliment. As the Slytherin was already doing her poses, it was somewhat challenging to communicate as he whispered to Gris mid pose "Of course, I mean why not right no Mosps or Giants whatsoever could ruin this right Gris?" The boy grinned as he slowly readjusted himself into the second pose letting out a soft sigh of relief.

Alan couldn't fathom just how flexible he was, reminiscing back to the times in muggle school where his small size made it easier to maneuver through crowds or squeeze into tight spaces. After a couple of tries and hearing a few cracks of his bones which weren't too worrisome the young lad managed to achieve the second pose; growing increasingly tired from the experience Alan yawned. "Thanks, Grissy it's my favourite and I only really wear it in the dorms, but today I just didn't care I want to be me you know?" the Ravenclaw said without a hint of a stutter yet sleepily showing how relaxed and comfortable he was in his friends' presence. "I do like your PJs, they look cool like a martial arts master from those kung fu movies" he whispered remembering that Gris mentioned doing Tai Chi in her spare time. "Perhaps you can show me...w-what was the word Tai Chi was it?" He muttered "That's right maybe you can show me how to do Tai Chi at the usual spot perhaps? just me and you?" Alan had always been curious about Gris background finding her heritage quite interesting to learn so much, so he wanted to learn Chinese as a second language.

Finally shifting to the final pose, it took a few tries as the comfortable embrace of sleep was fast approaching, struggling to keep his eyes open. Alan's eyes droop, in his mind, he thought about performing these poses in the dorms before bed from now on as it seemed to take the edge off for a good nights sleep. During the Final pose, all Alan could think about was his happy place, daydreaming of all the good things he liked, from Ninja Turtles to Drawing, to his Nan and Gris all that tension drifting away finally. Attempting to avoid passing out and embarrassment Alan had decided this was an excellent time to head off to bed, standing up and giving himself a good stretch Alan looked over to Gris as she was doing her poses. "Hey, I'm going to try and sleep, it's been a rough week I'll see you tomorrow Gris? Thanks for keeping me company as always" Alan knelt beside his fellow second-year smiling. Collecting his things the young lad left the Rehearsal Room and moved towards the dormitories where his soft bed awaited for yours truly to grace it with the young lad's presence.

Word Count 583 + 574 = 1157/1000 - ERRAND COMPLETE!