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/

Pilates @ Cityoga (yes....I know it's not yoga!)

So I tried out the Pilates class at Cityoga today. I know, I know, it's not yoga. However, I've noticed most yoga studios I've been to often offer a pilates class, and the two are often paired together, so I feel it is relevant. I've also noticed that pilates borrows from yoga, and I've been to many yoga classes which borrow from pilates as well.

Let me just say, this was by far the hardest pilates class I have ever taken. I've only taken a couple, but I always left those classes feeling like I didn't even work out. Well my whole body is telling me right now that I have definitely worked out. This was mat pilates class meant for all levels.

The class: There were only 3 of us, plus the instructor, so we certainly got some individual attention. We started off using 3 lb weights right away doing some arm exercises. We were in the hot yoga studio, so it was kind of dark and warm, so that was a little uncomfortable. We did some really difficult plank work which I definitely struggled with. Later we did a lot of work with the ring (is that what you call it?) between the knees, the ankles, etc working different areas, which was also very challenging. Serious leg-shaking stuff. I will tell you what though, I definitely feel like I got my workout. Serious muscle fatigue right now. I think what made it challenging was the amount of reps, and variations on each area (for example, we'd work out the left side for what seemed like forever, doing tiny variations, then move to the right). I think the other part is that I do virtually no weight training, so adding the weights made a huge difference.

I think I've been going to too many classes/gyms frequented by an older demographic and so the classes are lower impact. With Cityoga, that is NOT the case, which I love. It certainly has made me re-evaluate my fitness level! I'm definitely open to more pilates, but now I know it can kick my ass!! I just wish there were a way to distinguish the levels of difficulty. This class was considered all levels, but it felt advanced to me. Another studio I took pilates at for all levels felt like a light stretch session.

Vinyasa Flow at Cityoga (not the core one, this is new) tomorrow. I have a feeling I may be hurting still from pilates. No pain no gain?

Update: Skipping Vinyasa flow. I am SO SORE. I don't want to injure myself :(

Hot Yoga (1st Class) @ Cityoga

Major discovery - I need a towel for my yoga mat!!!!

I've gotten away with not having one for a long time, and sure I'd slip a tiny bit but nothing crazy. Hot yoga is a whooooole other story. I was slipping and sliding everywhere. Luckily, I brought a small hand towel anticipating the heat, and did my best with that to help with my footing.

I've never taken hot yoga before, but it's very popular right now and I've been dying to try it (I'm always going on to my friends about how I want to do yoga that works up a sweat.) Well, I think I released my body weight in sweat after this class.

The class: About 7 people total. The room started at about 86 degrees, but by the end got up to about 90 degrees (I was close to the thermostat). We went at a fairly slow pace, doing only 1 or 2 sequences a little faster.  Vinyasa flow was incorporated and the poses were kept fairly basic. Even the most basic poses get a LOT harder when its HOT though! My hamstrings were still somewhat sore from the Core Vinyasa Flow class a couple days ago, so I wasn't 100%, but still. I'm not sure I've ever sweat that much in my life. Absolutely dripping. Downed my big bottle of water in a heartbeat. It was definitely worth all the sweat though! We wound down class in corpse pose, and used eye-bags scented with something (lavender?). I felt like I was literally melting into the floor, and the eyebag along with the scent really helped to open my senses and calm me.

The skinny: I felt absolutely FANTASTIC coming out of that class. I was soaked in sweat head to toe, but was so full of endorphins and zen-y goodness that I didn't care. And the class was challenging, but not impossible, which is a plus for me. I would definitely take this again- consider me a new fan of hot yoga! Also, if you are going to do hot yoga, a mat towel is a MUST.

Side note: A bath towel works just as well as one of those designer towels! It may not look as snazzy, but if you're on a budget like I am and don't care what your towel looks like, a bath or beach towel is just fine!

Core Vinyasa Flow (1st class) @ Cityoga

So I've taken advantage of a local Groupon deal for a 5 class pass to Cityoga here in Indianapolis. It's a little bit of a drive for me, but it's a great opportunity to try some new classes (and Cityoga has a lot of offerings).

The 1st class I tried was Core Vinyasa Flow. I'm most familiar with Vinyasa work so there were not a whole lot of surprises, but the Cityoga studio was new to me.

The class: About 7 people in the class. It was a pretty typical practice, with a focus on how each pose is approached. So for instance triangle pose was approached first from the top, then the middle then the bottom. It was interesting to see the different ways in which you could flow into a pose. It's definitely useful for when you practice on your own, so that the flow can go on uninterrupted because you don't know where to go next (there's always somewhere to go!).  I expected to do more core work as in targeting the abs but perhaps that is not what they meant by 'core'? Regardless, my hamstrings have been burning for about 2 days! I definitely worked up a sweat, and it was high impact enough that I would go again. Robbin was also a great teacher, very easy to follow.

The studio: Cityoga has 2 studios, a large windowed studio and a hot yoga studio, both with wooden floors, and fairly plain decor. It's a really nice set-up with a very spacious lobby. I was impressed by how well put-together the studio seemed to be. I think my only deterrent to becoming a regular frequenter of the studio is the price-- its $15 for individual classes, $65 for 5 classes, $120 for 10 classes, and so on. They do occasionally have "community" classes for $5 and $10 so once my Groupon runs out I will try to attend those. $15 may not seem like a lot, but for a girl on a budget it sure is! The great thing about this studio is the variety of styles of yoga they offer. (Hot Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Slow Flow, Core Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Kundalini-just to name a few). They also frequently hold unique workshops (I'd love to try Acroyoga) and they allow you to schedule classes online (with payment) in advance.


Overall, I came away very happy with the class. I felt like I got a workout but it was also spiritually refreshing and centering as well.