For those keeping score at home you will have no doubt noticed that class #37 was on Tuesday while class #38 is on Thursday – “what gives?” I can hear you thinking. Well, I took Wednesday off. “No classes on Monday” you scoff “and now an oh-fer on Wednesday - what kind of a slacker is writing this blog ?”
Well, I can give three excuses, er reasons, for yesterday’s absence. 1) I didn’t feel well. My sniffles grew into honking and my energy was almost nil. Plus, I doubted anyone really wanted me around in such a state. 2) Along with blog writing responsibilities, it’s also newsletter time and I had to finish my article. I enjoy writing (sort of) but I’m a bit of a plodder and needed some extra time to finish that piece. 3) My glutes were surprisingly sore from Bonnie’s Power Pump class on Tuesday (the lunges got me). By itself, glute soreness would not have prevented me from soldiering on but piled on top of numbers 1 and 2 – it convinced me to stay home and recover.
More importantly, I’m back with the program today. For my first class back I choose my favorite – Yoga. My thinking is it will help stretch out my glutes and I can get through the class even if my energy isn’t quite 100%.
Stacy begins the class with a short lesson on the number 108 and what its significance is in the yogic tradition. My ears perk up because I’ve read several things in the past about why this is considered a sacred number. Its mathematical and astronomical properties are interesting and fairly complex. For instance, it so happens that the distance between the earth and the sun is 108 times the diameter of the sun. Likewise, the distance between the earth and moon is 108 times the diameter of the moon. That sun and moon look about the same size when viewed from earth is the result of their having the same ratio between distance and diameter. To top things off, the sun’s diameter happens to be 108 times the diameter of the earth (cue the Twilight Zone music). And that’s just the tip of the one oh eight iceberg.
What does all this have to do with yoga? Well, it’s something of a tradition to do 108 sun salutations at the changing of the seasons and especially for the Vernal (i.e. Spring) Equinox. Since we are two days away from equinoxing Stacy is bringing this up as prelude to today’s class, which will be a dissection of the sun salutation. Fortunately, we won’t do anywhere close to 108 of them because that would take a while.
She indeed leads us through the sun salutation in a new and refreshing way. It seems like everyone has a slightly different style of saluting the sun and it’s fun to learn new ones. One of the poses Stacy throws in that I’ve never done before is the “ski” chair. I’ve mostly done one that she also includes and refers to as “awkward” chair. I like doing the “ski” version although I have to remember it each time because it’s not in my habit body (a good thing).
Ski Chair
Awkward Chair
Stacy Swanson, our instructor today is a newly minted yogini. In fact, she will complete her 200-hour RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) training next month. Her teacher, Sherri Youngblood, teaches the “intermediate” class at the Club on Tuesday nights (see blog for class #32). Stacy stepped in to teach the Thursday morning class when long time instructor Lana Bienvenu decided to take a break from teaching. Stacy is also getting certified in children’s yoga and will begin teaching a kid’s yoga class at the Club in the near future. It’s easy to tell that Stacy is passionate about yoga and that will make her a great teacher.
In class today there are 8 women and me. The $25 gift certificate goes to Muriel Storrie.
Next up is an afternoon cycling class – check in with you after that.
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