Sunday, November 18, 2007

12th Street Gym - 12th between Walnut and Locust

I've been on a week long 12th Street Gym extravaganza! It's been great. It will end this Tuesday, so I'll write about it all then.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Busy Yoga Week... Wake Up Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, the 12th Street Gym and Svaroopa at the Print Center

You can read about about Wake Up Yoga below, but I wanted to say a bit about this week's classes at Dhyana Yoga and Svaroopa at the Print Center:

I went again to Sara's Vinyasa class and again loved it. The hour goes fast and while I felt it was fairly gentle, I did get a good workout. Dhyana has a great event coming up - go to their website to learn more. It's a donation event that will benefit an AIDS charity. There will be a vinyasa class, followed by a restorative class. Sounds amazing! The suggested donation is $50

I'm still loving Svaroopa at the Print Center. With such a busy week this week, I had trouble just relaxing into the poses and I kept wishing for more activity, but that's kind of the point... to slow your body and mind down. I'll keep going and keep trying!

There is also a great event on Saturday at the 12th Street Gym. It's called Tails on 12th and it will benefit a local animal shelter/rescue place. Those that attend will receive a free week at the 12th Street Gym. I will definitely be there! So expect that next week's blog will be mostly about the classes at the 12th Street Gym!

Wake Up Yoga - West Philly Location

Last night I finally made my way to the great Wake Up Yoga place on Baltimore Ave in West Philly. It was great!

Where: 4916 Baltimore Avenue. On Baltimore between 49th and 50th. The 34 Trolley goes right there. If you get there early, peek in first to see if the class before is still practicing, there is no waiting area. If it is, wander down the block to the cool African shops or go to the co-op - I love that neighborhood! (Although I was a tiny bit nervous walking alone after class.)

What to expect and Type of Yoga: They have lots of different types, but I went for Yin Yoga. The teacher and owner of the studios calls it "lazy girl, painful" yoga. That's an awesome description. Basically every pose is passive and done entirely on the floor. Poses like pigeon and supported bound angle poses, easy forward bends, etc. The trick (and the pain) come in the fact that each pose is held for 5 minutes or so. You really open into it, but it does get alot of sensation rolling around in your joints!

The Best Part: Corina. She's amazing. It's rare that I feel like questions are okay to just shout out in a class - but she is incredibly welcoming and warm - and questions really are okay to just pipe up and ask. She really explains things well and allows each person to be who they are. I can see why she's kind of a big deal in Philadelphia. I'm glad my introduction to her was through this class - it felt very intimate.

The Worst Part: Holding "plow" for an extended period of time. It's never my favorite pose. I have gotten better at it since I've lost weight, but it still compresses everything in a way that makes me feel all fat and squished. I did it though and felt quite proud of myself afterwards.