When a Minute Feels Like an Eternity—In the Best Possible Way

I’ve stumbled upon a new yoga studio I actually adore, which is astonishing because I’m notoriously picky about the places where I choose to sweat publicly. My requirements are simple: spotless, sunlit, and spacious enough that I’m not inadvertently in a close relationship with the person on the next mat. Bonus points for music that doesn’t make my nerves start bouncing when the whole system is trying to unwind.

Ahana Yoga in Miami meets all my criteria and throws in a few extras—like being ten minutes from where I train at Dance Flow Miami, which I take as a sign from the universe that it appreciates efficiency.

After three and a half decades of yoga—Bikram, Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Kundalini, and one memorable class that bore no resemblance to yoga but required you to  move free flow like you are a sea creature -—I thought I’d experienced everything. Enter Leon.

Leon began by instructing us to sit cross-legged and stare into the eyes of a stranger for a full minute. “You’ll feel uncomfortable,” he warned, which was both accurate and weirdly comforting—like someone handing you the probable test answers  before you’ve been given the final exam.

Because Leon said it might feel awkward, it didn’t. Instead, I found myself noticing the hazel of my partner’s eyes, the way they softened, the unspoken humanness of her. It felt oddly intimate for two people whose only interaction had been, “Hi, I’m Ellen,” and “Hi, I’m trying not to wish I had sat in the back row by myself.”

Then Leon told us to say, “You’re doing great.” We did, and shockingly, it felt like we meant it.

And then—“Tell your partner you love them.”
For one brief nanosecond I thought, Okay, now we’ve gone too far and into full wellness cult.

But I said it. And the surprising part? It didn’t feel ridiculous at all.

It’s amazing what can happen when you stop judging, stop narrating, stop being you for a moment—and really look at someone else. Turns out one uninterrupted minute can stretch into something unexpectedly expansive, quietly beautiful… and not even remotely cult-y.

I know gazing into someone’s eyes for a minute would probably scare most people so try it with a friend or family member and see what happens inside of you. You might just be surprised to see what interior window opens.

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