Due to scheduling logistics, I’m firing my yoga bullet early this week. It’s also my first time to do a class during “prime time” (i.e. 5-7 pm Mon.-Thur.) when the Club is especially hopping.
Breezy Osborne’s 5 pm yoga class is a familiar place for me. I used to be a regular in this class before it conflicted with a weekly tennis match. I’ve also taken many classes with Breezy at Barefoot Studio, the yoga studio she owns.
I happened to be in this same 5 pm yoga class 3 or 4 years ago when Matt Krepps was the instructor and Breezy was a teacher trainee. Matt had Breezy lead the class through the warm up portion of class. That may have been one of the first times Breezy had the opportunity to lead a class and doing so under the watchful eye of her instructor, had to be difficult. As one would expect, Breezy was a little tentative and probably terrified on that day.
No more. Breezy has developed into an extremely confident and competent teacher in the intervening years. This is the result, no doubt, of lots of hard work and having taught hundreds of classes in the interim.
Breezy Osborne
Breezy honed her skills in Las Vegas where she taught regularly and developed a strong following of students before being lured back to Little Rock when Matt and Holly sought her out to buy Barefoot Studio. That sale consummated on June 1, 2009 and from my observation, it’s been a good fit.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the LRAC has a unique partnership with Breezy’s studio. In essence, the Club pays a monthly fee to Barefoot and in return all Club members receive a 20% discount for their classes. As part of the agreement, Breezy teaches the Monday evening class at the LRAC. This is the sort of win-win scenario that I really like. Instead of being competitors as we might naturally have become, we are instead partners and as a result each business is strengthened.
As usual, on this Monday night, Breezy’s class was huge. By my count there were 30 students in the room. The class focus was on ‘side bend’ but as always the entire body gets exercised. Tonight’s sequence included ab work, horse, chair, forward bend, wide leg forward fold, gate, cobra, downward dog, tree, triangle, Warrior two and probably five or six techniques that I’m forgetting.
Breezy takes us through the paces in her soft but encouraging way always emphasizing staying safe and working within our limits. As with all good yoga instructors, modifications are offered for the different skill levels in the room. As we ease into Shavasana (corpse pose) there’s a pleasant feeling of resting after having worked the entire body.
The winner of the $25 gift certificate in 5 pm yoga goes to Kokila Vyas, who has been a regular participant in this class for years.
Okay, I’m going ‘back to back’ for the first time – Nia at 6:15 pm is next – no rest for the weary.
No comments:
Post a Comment