Kindness: every body deserves it (img: Bryan Lopez)

My Friday night could have gone in several different directions. There was the toga party in north Denver. Or onetime Mile High club DJ Sense at Norad Dance Bar downtown. But I was powerless to resist the pull of Kindness. Kindness can have that effect on people. Every body deserves it. Few get enough. While Kindness can do double entendre duty all day, it happens to be the moniker of a yoga studio collective owned by yoga Yoda Patrick Harrington and his uber-lovely baby momma Cameron Dabney. Friday Night Yoga Club, a weekly winter gathering of Denver and Boulder yogis and yoginis, was slated to kick off 2013 at the pair’s south Broadway location. Even though I was on deadline to bust out a proposal intro, I was determined to attend. MacBook and yoga mat in tow, I was on my way.

Mat space can be hard to come by at Friday Night Yoga Club. Selling out isn’t uncommon. Given that I needed to whip up a little wordplay before getting my downward dog on, I unrolled my rubber in the corner and saved it with my beaver hat. I bumped into an instructor named Mij as I was slipping out the back door and invited her to occupy it until I returned. Then I took my MacBook into the changing room and climbed on the proverbial hamster wheel.

Being adept at writing doesn’t always correlate with speed. I knew the word document in front of me was important, but I could also faintly hear Harrington coaxing the packed class in the other room through a serious of mind and body-opening poses in his characteristically charming and thought-provoking way. Progress was being made in both places though. I was painting a vivid picture of what my performance partner and I have to offer a Miami dance music festival and Yoda was motivating both physical and spiritual growth in the hue of a warm blue light. Forty-five minutes later, I finally joined the club. EarthRise Soundsystem DJ Derek Beres soundtracked the action. Kindness therapy was at hand at last.

The social hour that follows is half the fun. Treats and beverages are complimentary, and relevant vendors offer samples of their wares as well. I came home with shwag from Larabar, Living Tree Soaps and Wild Mountain Raw Foods, not to mention two drops of Sequana’s essential oil pain reliever on the back of my neck and Oogave natural soda in my belly. Molly Robinson of Heartstrings Massage was also onsite doing body work—her chair rarely stayed empty for long. The toga party was still tempting, but I had already made the right Friday night choice.

For further information, like Friday Night Yoga Club on Facebook.

George Peele enjoys strapping on height enhancers and aurally ambushing strangers. He is Music Editor for 303 Magazine. Follow Peele on Twitter: @Orangepeelmoses. Avatar image courtesy Jonathan Shoup.