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!