Urban Yoga Spa: Yogathon!

Last Saturday I did the Yogathon at Urban Yoga Spa in downtown Seattle. It was an incredible one-day yoga intensive! Three two-hour yoga classes, with breaks. One hundred and three people in a heated yoga room--quite steamy and sweaty, but fun, and amazing group energy. The first class was a very physically rigorous Power Vinyasa class by Kathy & Gordy. I took frequent breaks in Child's Pose. Then a special Hot Hatha class by Erin called "Hot Hatha to the Core." She played with the typical UYS Hot Hatha sequence to bring in some additional poses that played to her theme. "To the core" meant deep lower abdominals, the cradle of the pelvis, and she got us in touch with "the four points" --tailbone & pubic bone; hipbone points in front--and had us engage them to make poses throughout the class more effortless. Awesome. Finished with a class by the incredible Whitney, about half Power Vinyasa, and then some sweet, gentle restorative poses.

The whole thing was $17, drop-in, I think, or just one class off a multi-class pack if you have one. For an additional $20, you could preorder healthy, yummy food from Juicy Cafe, so at the first break there was a peanut-butter ball, second break a smoothie and a brown rice/salad with your choice of tofu or chicken, and afterward a garbanzo bean salad. I actually didn't eat the salad--started to and then put down the fork. Doing lots and lots of yoga always puts me in touch with what my body really needs to eat, and how much. (In training, the answer was frequently: FRUIT and A LOT.)

I was extremely tired that night and the next day, but also feeling extremely open and blissed-out. The soreness--and the positive effects--continued rippling out through my life the whole week.

There's another Yogathon coming up at Urban Yoga Spa at the end of July, check it out! (scroll down on that link to get to the info on Yogathon.) If you have never taken hot yoga before, take at least four classes before you jump into yogathon, though, and obviously, hydrate well for 12-24 hours before any hot yoga!!

The wisdom of not doing

I actually didn't go to yoga Saturday or Sunday. Saturday because I figured I needed a day off, and Sunday because I was lazy. Monday my glutes and hamstrings were so fatigued that walking was sort of a trial, so I'm thinking it was wise to ease up.

In retrospect zero yoga for a long time, and then five days in a row of powerful/vigorous practice was unrealistic. Glad I eased up!

Last night was Pilates and it turns out if you want to work your hip flexors and lower abs, just lie on your back with your thighs perpendicular to the floor and shins parallel. There are some other refinements, but do this for a minute or more and I bet you will see what I'm saying.

Tonight I teach the yoga.

Mini-Yoga Intensive

Sometime in the past year, I lost my yoga mat. It was a nice one, natural rubber/jute surface that was sticky enough, dealt with moisture well (important for hot yoga), and it was a pleasant dark reddish purple color. I think I left it at a yoga studio. It had its faults; it was starting to shed bits of jute onto my clothing, but I wish my poor sleep-deprived self hadn't walked away from it. Meantime I've been using my husband's, which has an assortment of grime and smells like the floor of our older car. Which is to say: stale french fries.

For Christmas I received two beautiful yoga mats! One slate blue Jade that is a nice heavy weight, unrolls itself silently when you set it down, grippy without being sticky. The other turquoise with a pretty petal design, like Gaiam but a different brand, I think.

Because our former babysitter down the block is here on a holiday break from college, I took advantage of her a couple of days this week, and my husband's three day-weekend, and I'm lining up a mini-intensive this week. As things have worked out, it's going to be four to six of my favorite teachers. How clever I am.

Wednesday I went to a Vinyasa class at Hot Yoga of Laurelhurst taught by Megan Carroll. She inspired me to attend Samarya Center teacher training, and is flat-out awesome. The rigorous class started and ended with meditation and focused on core work and observing attachment and aversion.

Thursday I went to a Vinyasa class at Sutra Yoga taught by Angela Gayle. I hadn't seen Angela in over a year, and I was really looking forward to taking her class. I was pleasantly surprised when she remembered me and gave me a big hug! Her class was of course challenging and offered lots of choices for, as she puts it, "advancing practitioners." (With my extremely sporadic practice, rebuilding core muscles, and Achilles tendonitis, that ain't me, but I'm getting very good at honoring my practice in any "level" of yoga class. Beyond that, as a mom of two, whether or not I can actually show up to a yoga class trumps which teacher or particular level/flavor the class is!)

And this afternoon brings a class I've looked forward to for over six weeks--candlelit silent Hot Hatha taught by Audrey Benton at Hot Yoga of Laurelhurst. A candlelit silent practice on New Year's Eve is something very special. Say what you will about Hot Hatha/Bikram yoga--it is pretty amazing to practice silently but in synchronization with a room full of practitioners, the only sound our collective breath and the occasional "change" uttered by the teacher. And when I get to attend on NYE, it always make me think of the class I took on New Year's Eve 2006. I finished the very last bit of work at my office job I was quitting JUST in time to scoot down to Hot Yoga of Laurelhurst. Camille, who has now moved out of state, taught the candlelit silent practice that night. It was very symbolic to me to actually FINISH my office job and head to yoga class, ushering in a new year in which I would only teach yoga--no day job.

New Year's Day I will take Vinyasa class from the incredible Jo Parsons at Urban Yoga Spa. (If space allows teachers to practice, that is!)

And I'm hoping to take on Sunday the 2nd from one of the many amazing teachers at Samarya Center... but I haven't picked out a class yet.

So five days of yoga--yummy doesn't begin to describe it. Two days in and I'm already sore in places I've forgotten about--especially my abdominals right under the rib cage. But I'm also replete with energy and feeling fairly peaceful.

I've heard it said that your yoga mat reflects your practice, or your life, and I think there's something to it. So here's to a 2011 full of yoga on my new mats, mindfully carried to and from class in a mat bag!