My mother's been doing it since the 70s, my MAC friends swear by it, the oracle Delfine does it 3-4 times a week after work, and archaeologist Gregory Possehl sees "a form of ritual discipline" depicted in several seals dating back to the 3rd millennium before common era, so I think it's about time that I try yoga too.
I ventured into Fan Tan Alley just before dark via Pandora, found the elevator past the blast of aromatherapy escaping one store, and journeyed up 5 storeys to MokSana. I get out of the elevator, and I am greeted by a plethora of shoes. Good thing I wore my slip-on jika tabi...I added them to the top of the pile. Just being in a yoga studio is foreign to me, so I make my way to the front desk and I am instructed to go up the steep stairs on the right.
At the top and through a door, a steamy yoga studio revealed itself. There were a few colourful mats on the hardwood floor, props piled high on the wall shelving, 360 degrees of windows, an overwhelming sense of calm in the room, and a picture of Ganesha on the wall...I plopped myself next to him...if an elephant (albeit a very special one) can do yoga, so can I.
Lil' Red came over to me as soon as she saw me. I attempted to attend Taryn's class (Anahata Moon Yoga) last week, but was thwarted by a late husband, a bad sense of direction, the front desk, and a locked door. That makes it seem much more dramatic than it was in reality...but I don't care. Let there be drama. We're going to meditate all that away soon. Taryn welcomed me to the class with a big hug and a bunch of compliments...awww shucks. I met this beautiful soul in 2006 when I started working at MAC @ The Bay Victoria. She and I (along with Kirsten) were the fiery redheaded component of the team; small in stature, big in personality. Taryn took me through my "sink or swim" orientation on counter. Her teaching methods were thoughtful and patient, too bad I started during holiday rush madness. Luckily, yoga is nothing like a MAC counter at Christmas.
A journey of a thousand leagues begins beneath one's feet - Lao-tzu
Okay, that quote is not Indian, but it's what I thought of when I started being all bendy and yogic. Since starting this challenge, I have tried to be open to all forms of exercise (no matter what I feel that I am capable of) and yoga was just one more class for which I was game. So when Taryn commenced the practice with or corpse pose, I was relieved to say the least.
Taryn started by relaxing our bodies and then brought us gradually into positions after fully realising 3 count breathing. She explained the movements so precisely that I never felt lost (which is an accomplishment because I feel that way pretty much every time I do anything related to exercise). I was happy to discover that my body actually accepted, nay, rejoiced at doing yoga. Which is brilliant for a newbie like me, the class flew by as I flowed from one pose to another...not the same way as other students did during the class, but Taryn's method taught me to accept the fact that I was a neophyte and that modification was not a weakness. At least I was endeavouring to achieve all positions. When I was done, she even saluted my downward dog. Who knew I was good at ass-over-teakettle? Haha...When I left the studio, I was relaxed, had sweated, and felt one with myself.
Yoga?
Yes please.
See you next Tuesday.
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OMG..what if I don't have a pretty face?
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