90 min Yoga with Meghan of Imagine, a Yoga Studio

I used the last day of my new student pass with Imagine, a Yoga Studio to attend one of their 90 minute offerings. This time I brought along my roommate and friend, Keeley, who is also a yoga fan. Our instructor was Meghan Dunphy, who was (surprise!) around 28 weeks pregnant!

(Sidenote: I am writing this post a day late so my memory may be a bit foggy)

Something I loved about this class was the mix of students. It was my first evening class, taking place at 4:30 pm. There were a few more students than the afternoon classes. But here's the mix, 1 pregnant woman (in addition to the instructor!), 1 somewhat muscular looking guy in the late 20's- early 30's range,  a couple women who appeared to be 20's-30's, my roomie and I, and a couple women who had to be 40's-50's, and we were all shapes, sizes, and levels. Imagine seems to truly cater to everyone, with their motto, "Simply Yoga."Meghan was supportive of everyone's individual needs and how far they wanted to push themselves. I only hope that I am as active when I'm pregnant someday as Meghan is! It's not every day you expect to see a pregnant woman doing handstands.

The Class: (90 minutes)

We began with the lights very low, slowly stretching for a long time. It made me a little sleepy but I think it had to do with Meghan's focus on the meditative qualities of yoga (according to her teaching profile on the Imagine website). Eventually we worked into the "usuals", some sun salutations, warrior 2 (or warrior B as she called it), triangle pose, half moon pose, and side angle pose. This is the 2nd class I've been to at Imagine that skips warrior 1. I haven't really determined why, but I suppose you can't do all the poses!

There were a few unique elements to this class.
        We did one exercise where legs are spread wide and you squat, thighs parallel to the floor. With your hands behind your head, you lean to the left, touching your left elbow to your left knee, back to center, then right elbow to right now, back to center, and repeat about 10 times. It was hard! Great oblique and thigh workout though.
        Another great one was working against the wall. I had seen pictures of this on the website, but this was my first encounter with wall work in yoga. One variation included a supported L pose, with palms flat against the wall, torso parallel to the floor, legs perpendicular, creating an L shape, filling the upper back (not sinking in), and stretching through the shoulders.
        Another more difficult version was the inverted L, with feet flat against the wall, legs parallel to the floor and arms perpendicular. The challenge to this was getting up in the first place, definitely a danger of feet slipping down the wall.
        My favorite though was kicking up from downdog (hands by the wall) into a handstand against the wall. If you wanted, you could then slowly attempt to go into a full handstand by first bending one leg and floating the other off the wall, then unbending the other leg and meeting it. I have not mastered the full handstand but I love the challenge! We were then allowed to play a bit on the wall, so I did my usual headstand attempt, which went very well.

A variation a couple students did while in crow and some other poses, was tripod headstand, which is not something I've attempted. In the headstand (bound headstand) I was taught, you clasp your hands creating a triangle, elbows evenly spaced apart, and cradle your head with forearms flat on the floor as you walk your feet forward and lift into a headstand. The variation that the other 2 students performed was a balance on the head uncradled, with palms flat the the floor, arms in an L shape. And instead of walking the feet in, it began with a tripod balance, and lifting from there. It seems more difficult, and I'm interested in exploring it. According to FitSugar.com, there are four basic headstand variations! Also included are double arm headstand, and pinching shoulders headstand.


Overall, I enjoyed this class. Meghan was excellent, joking around to lighten things just a bit in class, and very supportive. The 90 minute length did not feel like too much, though it was lower impact than I expected. Loooots of stretching. My roommate was so happy with the class that she grabbed a printed schedule and has vowed to return by Monday! Meanwhile, I plan to attend another 4:30pm class tonight, despite sore shoulders and glutes. Getting back into the yoga swing of things feels great!

Yoga with Dede of Imagine, a Yoga Studio

I am continuing to take advantage of my new student pass at Imagine, a Yoga Studio. Today's class was another 60 minute, 12pm class, this time with Dede Fuentes, a regular instructor at the studio.

A side note from my last post about Imagine-- I said the class was 'moderately' challenging. Well my hamstrings felt VERY challenged for the following 2 days! Guess that's what happens when you're off the wagon for too long...a class that may not seem challenging actually is if you aren't practicing regularly.

The class: (60 minutes)

There are few more people in this class than last time, maybe 8 of us. Dede is a pleasant instructor, young and provided plenty of excellent modifications to further challenge the poses. She seemed to make a concentrated effort to give the entire room equal time, walking back and forth across the floor and instructing from various points throughout the room. In a studio like Imagine's, this is really important, since it is much longer than it is wide and makes it difficult to see the instructor. That can be frustrating if it's a pose you're unfamiliar with!

The music had a little Christmas thrown in early on, but switched to lyrical contemporary singer/songwriter type tunes as we progressed. I got to thinking about how a yoga instructor might develop a playlist for a class, and if it's ideal to make a new or tweaked one for every class, and whether the playlist comes first, or the chosen set of poses come first. I would assume some treat the music as merely background, while others fuse the music with the movement. Something to look into! I like the idea of "choreographing" a class to a playlist. It would also be an ideal way for the instructor to track time. Once you get to a certain song, you know it's time to cool down, that sort of thing.

These classes feel short to me. Maybe it's because I'm used to a 90 minute practice. The 60 minute version is more convenient for the sake of saving time in the day, but it feels incomplete when we don't get to touch on so many common poses.

Crow pose with toes together

This class had a similar feel to the previous one. Perhaps slightly more challenging, with more hip openers and the inclusion of crow and pigeon poses, and the exclusion of plow and shoulder stand. Dede had a way of doing crow which I found very interesting. Normally I align the bend of my elbows with the bend of my knees and balance looking forward with my feet pointed behind me, straight out. Dede had us bring our knees as far up our arms as possible, allowing the toes to come together creating a diamond-like shape. It actually seemed more symmetrical and 'crow-like' in this fashion. I'm not sure if there is a "correct" way to do crow, but this variation seems to be on par.

Another fun, holiday themed variation was "Christmas Tree" pose. Which was really just tree-pose, arms in the air, and allowing yourself to "light up" from within. It is so strange, with tree pose, sometimes I can get my foot right up against my thigh, and other times it slides right down immediately. I think wearing tights today may have contributed to the slipping, but it happens even without tights. The half-lotus allowed a fuller stretch, better balance, and far less slipping. Of course, half lotus is not tree-pose.

Dede did not adjust any of us during final savasana, which is perfectly fine. Many people prefer not to be adjusted. I always find it to be helpful in order to fully extend and relax. This studio does not observe either of these practices, but during savasana I have always found the heated/scented eyebags and the tibetan singing bowl to be wonderful additions. Let me explain why. Many people forget to let go of the tension in their face during savasana, or have a hard time keeping their eyes closed. This added weight, warmth, and pressure forces those muscles to relax and for the yogi to more easily withdraw into themselves and block out any outside disturbances. I like the singing bowl because of the roundness of the tone and its ability to mute outside sound. It gives the yogi a tone to focus on and let external thoughts float away.

Overall, this was a good class. Her style was not radically different from Leona's, so I am interested to see if this is the case with the other teachers. A cohesive style is a worthy goal for a studio, however, I am on the hunt for variation.

PS In reference to the article I posted in my previous blog post about an attempt to copyright yoga poses- it turns out the person suing for copyright is Bikram Choudhury, the creator of Bikram Yoga. There just so happens to be a Bikram Yoga studio, licensed by Choudhury, in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, a couple blocks from my work. As it also happens, one of the individuals being sued is Greg Gumucio, former student of Choudhury and founder of Yoga to the People-which as you may recall is the studio that produces the podcasts I use at home! As a final note, I would like to post Yoga to the People's mantra, which I find inspiring and pointed. Take from it what you will.

1st visit, "Imagine, A Yoga Studio"

I made it out of my Chicago apartment for some yoga (finally)!

Today I attended my first class at Imagine, A Yoga Studio, just a couple blocks away from my residence. It's a small storefront, with a single studio set up lengthwise, with full windows at the end facing the train. The sun created beautiful light through the windows, diffused through japanese paper room dividers, with soft wood floors and light purple and gray walls. There was a lingering scent of incense, but not overpowering. I came early to register, and was greeted by the sister of one of the owners, Beka Olsen (I'm having trouble recalling the sister's name).

All classes are $10 (very reasonable), but they offer a 2 week unlimited pass for $25 for new students, so I decided to go with that and try out as many different teachers as I could. Imagine's philosophy seems unique. Unlike many studios, they do not prescribe levels or descriptions to their yoga courses (though there is a 90 minute course as opposed to the usual 60, a 'yoga basics' workshop for beginners, and 'gentle yoga' for a gentler practice). In general, their courses are designed to work for all levels, and are unique through the teaching methods of each individual instructor. Modifications are provided by the instructor to adjust the level of difficulty in either direction. There is something communal and all inclusive about this method that I admire, though I am a fan of changing up what type of class I am going to. Once I try several teachers, perhaps I will find that these classes are more radically different than they appear! Every instructor does have their own style, after all.

I went to the 12pm class, which is usually taught by Beka, one of the owners. However, today we had a sub, Leona (I hope I've spelled her name right). I was looking forward to instruction from the owner of the studio, but Leona did a lovely job. Maybe next time! There were I think 6 total people in the class. The room appeared to be able to accomodate maybe 10-13 comfortably.

The class: (60 minutes)
We began seated, but elevated. Most of us elected for a block, some used a towel or pillow. I opted for the block. This places your hips above your knees in a seated position, which is a refreshing change. Best not to cross the legs entirely, but let the ankles gently cross.

Leona began and ended the class with a single "Om". I like the symmetry and singleness of this, however I realize some people find the "Om" a bit silly or alienating. Having done plenty of Linklater vocal exercises for theatre looking and sounding ridiculous, the "Om" isn't too big a deal for me. The class did contribute a hearty Om, though there could have been tenfold more power and depth behind it. If you're gonna Om, then OM!

We went through the usual breath awareness exercises, breaking into some moderately difficult lunges (after some cat/cow stretches) with prayer twist that came a bit to early on for my taste. I prefer to ease into the more difficult stuff by going through familiar stand-bys first, such as the warriors and sun salutations. The very next thing after  lunging and flowing into downward dog, came a forward fold which progressed into sun salutations and warrior variations.

She varied the warrior sequence a bit, going from warrior one, then placing the arms in eagle, moving into warrior three, then back to one, unwinding the arms, and flowing into warrior 2, and eventually triangle. It is nice to shake out of old patterns, so I appreciated the variety. I really liked her approach to triangle. From warrior 2, she had us reach and reach with the front arm until you couldn't anymore, and then leave the torso where it is, but drop the front arm to your leg, and raise your left to the sky. This really helped me keep my torso in proper alignment for triangle.

Half Lotus in Tree Pose

For balance, we did variations on tree pose. I chose to attempt half-lotus, which she offered as a modification. I've never actually attempted half-lotus, where instead of placing your foot on your upper thigh, you go beyond and place your foot on top of your thigh, resting on the hip socket; and I'm always up for a challenge. From there we went into a forward fold, still in half lotus, and then jumped back into plank, STILL in half-lotus. While in standing half lotus, you can hold your foot in place, however, jumping into plank made my foot slide down to just about the knee, though still on top of the leg. This seemed to be the case for everyone. From there we moved into side plank, which I did normally, though you could pursue it in half lotus as well. I actually found half lotus more balancing then the usual tree pose. It would interesting to explore why that is.

She definitely stressed spreading your toes widely for all of the standing poses, which was very grounding and balancing and I enjoyed.

We also did some twists, plow, shoulder stand, and fish poses, which are some of my favorite stand-bys. I missed camel pose, crow, side-crow, and the headstand, though! Of course, there's only 60 minutes, and you can't do EVERY pose.

Overall, it was an enjoyable, and moderately challenging class. It was perhaps a tiny bit too difficult too early on (in regards to the order of the poses), but the overall difficulty was mid-range. The music was faint and not distracting, the studio was warm and beautiful, and Leona was encouraging and sweet. I am interested to see what new insight the other instructors at Imagine can provide.

PS I'd like to share this important article I came across today. Someone thinks they have the right to copyright yoga poses. Ridiculous, IMO. http://www.jdjournal.com/2011/12/12/yoga-cannot-be-copyrighted/