Yoga! Flame!

Hey All,

     I got a week long trial membership to the American Family Fitness gym that is near our apartment. A Coworker and friend of mine that lives nearby goes several times a week(Mon-Wed-Fri) and trains with a trainer on Tuesday and Thursday. It didn't take long of me complaining about my 30 day shred dvd for her to rope me in to going with her.

     Today was my first day at the gym. We did a lovely walk around tour. The facility is pretty nice. There are showers and lockers, swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs that look SO relaxing, next time I wouldn't mind hopping in there before I come home ;)

     We weren't originally going to stay for any of the classes, because they are an hour long, However when we walked by a room advertising "Pitaiyo" I was intrigued. I had never heard of that before. It took a few tries to get it to roll off my tongue the right way.  Hesitantly, we pushed inside, and entered into a dimly lit room with some kind of jazzy meditation music, Several people were on the floor on mats with a strap and 2 foam blocks to the side. The trainer informed us that the class blends together Pilates, Tai chi, and Yoga. We thought it sounded like fun so we stayed to see how it turned out.

     It wasn't hard in the beginning, we stretched a lot, and most of the poses were familiar to me. I have done yoga on and off for awhile now; but the rest was new. . . and somewhat challenging. The moves and poses weren't hard, it was holding still and remembering to breath after you got in to them. I felt pretty relaxed for most of it, despite the fact we were all pouring sweat. It actually felt like the hour went by a lot quicker then I thought it would (and certainly didn't have me looking at the clock every 5-10 minutes wondering if it was over yet?).

     I would have to say that the hardest part was looking in the mirror (the walls are mirrored) and seeing yourself struggle to do the basic move when someone not two mats away is looking like the high point of grace. It's not a feeling of jealousy or anger, it's kind of a wonder, a determination. A force that drives you to want to be better. To attain that kind of balance and flexibility.
I really enjoyed seeing so many different people come together for a time and focus, in such solitude, a unity.

     I hope I can continue to catch these classes, they were truly amazing.

     DISCLAIMER TO STREET FIGHTER 2 FANS::
Even though many elite yoga skills have been clearly and skillfully displayed, Pitaiyo does not seem to be able to grant me Yoga Fire, nor Yoga Flame. I will continue to study these on my own. for other who wish to Learn the Yoga Fire, and Yoga Flame poses, I have included below several highly instructional videos.