Once is Probably Enough For Me

There is a group of people at the gym where I'm currently working that are very interested in the P90X DVD workout series. This is a series of intense exercise routines designed to provide results in 90 days*. Part of this grouping is something called Yoga X. I set aside the 1 1/2 hours to do this workout recently.

My perspective is that of a Certified Yoga Instructor and I will try my best to follow the non-judgment yogic philosophy as I continue writing this post.

What I Enjoyed:

• It was an intense and challenging workout.
• Most of the poses you would see in a Power Yoga class were part of this workout.
• There was a 10 - 15 minute section of abdominal work that was very well-queued, balanced, and effective.
• The Ashtanga flows were as expected and were sequenced with increasing intensity and complexity.
• The balancing poses were also effective and included one of the rare moments when a bit of yogic philosophy was present in the class ("It's OK to be wobbly...".)
• The stretches in the final section were held for a long time and this felt very good after the intense practice.
  

Opportunities for Improvement:

• In general, this instructor does not use the mirroring style of teaching even though he is facing you. When he says "Step out with your right foot", he steps out with his right foot which causes you to be going the opposite direction than him and his class. This is confusing to many people and this is normally a characteristic of an inexperienced instructor.

• I would have preferred to have a warm-up flow that builds on dynamic movements as part of the class. What was presented at the beginning of class was a few stretches and three quick Sun Salutation flows that were ineffective for me as my muscles were not ready for Sun Salutation. I think the workout expects that you have already warmed-up with some type of cardio activity.

• I would not recommend this yoga session for someone that is new to yoga and new to exercise. There isn't much explanation about how to do the poses and would require someone to continually look at the television during the poses which could cause neck strain. Since the workout is difficult, it might be frustrating for someone new to exercise.
  

• I grew tired of the instructor pointing out the "great bodies" of his students and how "good" they were at doing the poses. This should not be part of a yoga practice. Poses are never-ending and expectations of a great body from doing yoga poses should not be encouraged. There was an occasional comment about how everyone has a different level of flexibility, though.
  

• Once we were on the mat in the final 20 minutes of class, the transition between poses was ineffective and almost non-existent. For example, while on our back, we moved to child's pose and then from child's pose back to lying on our back. This was awkward.
  

• After an hour and a half of stressing the physical practice of yoga with very little philosophy and very little focus on breathing, we sat up after Relaxation Pose and did 3 sets of "Oms". This seemed out of place.

This workout is definitely for an experienced practitioner in good physical condition who is not expecting much beyond a physical challenge.

*This a claim published on their website.

How to Stay Warm on a Cold Dreary Day

Well Christmas is almost here. I hope your holiday season is going well.

Lately I've felt that I've fallen into cycle of disengagement and my personal yoga practice has taken a back seat. Another way to put this is that I "fall asleep in periods of non-crises". This doesn't mean that there aren't problems to deal with on a daily basis or that I don't have any problems. Everybody has something. This means that I'm not operating in crises mode with the adrenalin that goes with it and it's easy for me to fall into a rut.

So what do I usually do to get myself out of this mode? I try something new. I've wanted to try hot yoga for some time now. A close friend of mine tried it and it was intense and invigorating and she is ready to go back for more. My students often ask me about hot yoga. Some have tried it and some have not. Those that have tried it have done the Bikram style with temperatures near 100 degrees and a specific set of poses held for a specific length of time. Each class is the same.

I'm not interested in that but there are other options out there. The class I tried last week was 90 minutes at 98.6 degrees and 60% humidity. It was through Sunstone Yoga, which is franchised throughout Texas. This was the Fire class. They have other types of classes.

The class wasn't a flow but a series of 34 poses that were held, usually not for very long, but long enough. None of the poses were overly difficult if you've been practicing yoga. For beginners, with the extra stress of the heat, I think it would have been very tough.

Yes, you will sweat and it may be able to fill a bucket. The warm room felt pretty good after awhile although it was claustrophobic at first as the lights were out when I first walked into the room.

During class, the lights were turned up and there was no music. The focus was on form and execution. The instructor encouraged us to drink water. I brought in a water/Gatorade mixture since this is something I've found I need from running long distances.

There were no Sanskrit pronunciations and no philosophy and in my opinion final relaxation was way too short (only about 3 minutes) for a 90 minute class. The instructor left us in final relaxation and walked out. I thought that was weird although she did say to let her know if we had any questions. She was at the front desk when we left. Since there was not another class waiting, you had the option to stay longer if you wanted.

As an instructor I always learn something from taking other classes. Since I'm not new to yoga and although I try not to have expectations, I still find that I have a mind-set about how to do something and may have to "unlearn" something in order to comply with a different style of yoga. With this particular instructor, due to a slight accent, I could not understand what she was saying during most of the class. Also, because of a fan blowing the hot air in the room, I could not hear her once we were on the floor.

These are things I take back to my classes as I try to improve as an instructor.

Every yoga class is different as is every instructor. This style of yoga does not promote the instructors individually and associate them to specific classes. You may have a different instructor every time. This is to encourage you to deal with whatever comes your way in life. It's not always predictable. As with people, some instructors you will like better than others but you still have to deal with people that you don't really like.

Will I go back? Probably.

Will I go to the Fire class every time? No, I want more variety.

But if you're in the area and you're looking for hot yoga, check out their website. You might find something you like.

Coming soon....a review of the Earth class format offered thru Sunstone yoga. According to the brochure and the website, this is closer to a power yoga flow class. The temperature is @90 degrees with @50% humidity.

Have a great Christmas!