There are 11 yoga classes on our schedule and as I’ve already bragged, I can do those bad-boys standing on my head. So, I’m trying to spread them out some because they are somewhat restorative for me. Today was the 2nd yoga class I’ve taken on the quest and since this is still week number one – two yoga classes may be a little greedy on my part but I’m still easing into this whole deal. Besides my abs still ache from yesterday’s – Hard Core Stretch (a class that I hoped was yoga-esque but alas – no such luck).
I loved today’s class, it felt really good for my body. Our instructor this morning was Mike Danley. I’ve practiced yoga with Mike quite a bit but have only taken his classes on a few occasions. Mike’s gentle approach has a becalming quality, which is so helpful in a yoga practice.
Mike was trained at Barefoot Studio by Matt/Holly Krepps and therefore has a style with which I’m quite familiar. As you may know, the Club has a partnership with Barefoot Studio, whereby all of our members receive a 20% discount there and we frequently share teachers…also, current Barefoot owner Breezy Osborne teaches one class a week at the LRAC.
I’ve practiced most of my yoga at Barefoot and since this is a blog about the LRAC’s group ex program, perhaps I should explain myself. The thing is, yoga is as much about one’s inner state as one’s outer condition. That’s why it’s called a mind/body discipline. If the mind isn’t still, then the body won’t be relaxed. The problem for me while practicing yoga at the LRAC is that I’m still at “work”. I’m hyper aware of everything happening in the room, wanting to make sure the experience for members is a positive one. When I’m Barefoot, or anywhere else, I’m not responsible for what everyone else is experiencing so I can completely relax into the practice.
A good example of what I’m trying to say happened in class today. For some reason, children are drawn to all of the exercise doodads that are stored right outside the group exercise room. To the kids, the medicine balls, hand weights, balance balls and step benches are just a bunch of toys to be explored and played with. The problem is, that playing right outside the studio can be distracting during the stillness of a yoga class – or, at least I imagined it to be so this morning. As a result, I was distracted, worrying about others in the class being distracted – while also wanting to respect the kid’s desire to play. When I saw - between my downward dog legs - that two kids were dueling with the power pump weight bars I swung into action and went out to ask them to please play elsewhere.
All this motivates me to find an even better way to soundproof the room. Many LRAC members may not realize that last year we added a second pane of glass to the back wall to reduce noise. It helped a lot but still some sound gets through. I’ll keep looking for a solution – a Maxwell Smart “cone of silence” would be nice.
As for attendance at this morning’s class, it was really good….I’d guess about 25 and well balanced between men and women. The winner of the $25 gift certificate is Stephanie Sherwin.
Next class up for me is Sunday afternoon's Step Basic.
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