Not your Mother's yoga

Unless of course your names are Lourdes, Rocco and David Banda. About 10 years ago, I fell in love with so-called "power" or "flow" yoga. Way back then, the chain, Yoga Works only had two small studios- both in Santa Monica and a single class was only about $13 (now $20-25). I followed all of the big boys (and girls) of LA yoga: Brian Kest, Max Strom, Vinnie Marino, Micheline Berry, Ted McDonald, among others. After about 4 years of traveling with my yoga mat and going to studios all over town and beyond, I burned out on it. I cut back way back and to this day I practice maybe only once a month, if that. When I practice yoga, I want to stand in a puddle of my own sweat, or it's not worth the our-and-a-half investment of time. Therefore, "Gym yoga" never cut it for me. A few forward-bends and a twist or two is not my idea of exercise. Yes, it is fabulous for stretching once I've already finished a training, but I can't consider it a stand-alone workout. Knowing that yoga can be very dangerous if not practiced properly, I understand that gym yoga needs to be slow and gentle as there isn't much hands-on correction like there is in the studios. Yesterday, I was given a free-day pass at Equinox in Westwood, which gave me the opportunity to take a nice easy "gym yoga" class before meeting the familia for lunch. The club is nothing short of swanky- in a very zen sort of way. There's even a spa!. By the time I made my way past the stainless steel, dark wood, orchids and bamboo, I was sure I'd be in for a relaxing stretch class. The entrance The lobby The stair case up to the gym The Class- looks so mellow, right? WRONG! I walked in and the place was PACKED. I even had to ask someone if I could squeeze in. Dressed in baggy yoga pants and a tank top, the instructor had all the requisite yogi-esque tattoos and was ripped and lean. He guided us through complete Sun Salutations (an energizing warm up), not the pared-down versions usually reserved for gym yoga. He encouraging students to "jump or hop" to the next pose (again, rare in gyms). He also called for several handstands... IN THE CENTER OF THE ROOM (ie. no wall to fall rest upon!). Not only that, but he suggested transitioning the handstand directly into Chaturanga (the bottom of a pushup) by jumping your feet all the way back while lowering part way down. Yikes. Before I knew it I was sweating. A lot. I looked around and everyone was drenched. One very fit, lean girl had to dry herself off with a towel much that I thought that she had sneaked in from Spinning class. But no, she was just doing yoga. Another impossible move for me was going from Boat pose (Like a V-sit in Pilates) to Mountain Pose (standing up on your feet), and sitting back down to Boat again! I had to clumsily help myself up and down with my hands- and THAT was hard! Most students just somehow managed to stand up and lay back down without any assistance at all! He had us do this maneuver about 10 times. Hello, heart rate! He included other "real" yoga poses, like Bakasana or Crow pose (see photo, below, left)...I have done this successfully once in all the years I've practiced. He also had us do the Side Bakasana (below, right), with which I have a little more success. Then there was Side Arm balance several times...my arms were shaking throughout the entire class. I am sore today! In addition, the music was really interesting- lonely Indian sitar one minute, hip-hop the next, and reggae following that. I loved the variety and the vibe. Unfortunately you need to be a member of Equinox to attend that class and I already belong to more gyms than should be legal in California. Yesterday's class reminded me of some of the amazing benefits of yoga: It can be very, very challenging- providing resistance training with your own body weight There are cardio benefits- I looked down at my heart-rate monitor (I know, what a geek- who wears a heart-rate monitor to YOGA?!!) and saw 139 bpm several times It forces you to remain calm and breath through discomfort. I have used this technique in many areas of my life You improve your balance- something we all need to do, especially as we age You stretch- so important... and in my case, so neglected. You feel incredibly relaxed upon leaving. Believe it or not, I had originally intended to "do some cardio" after class as I had plenty of time to kill, but when I left class, the notion seemed utterly ridiculous. Total overkill. True, I burned way fewer calories than I would have on some cardio machine, but interestingly I was much less hungry the rest of the day than I would have been after a 500-calorie workout. So I intend to try to schedule one class per week to start. Then who knows, I may end up traveling with my yoga mat once again. Here's my beloved leopard print yoga bag. I got it at in Hawaii 8 years ago at Maui Yoga. LOVED that studio. Magical. Do you practice yoga? What kind? What does it do for your mind and body? Deb