I’ve got a luscious double lined up for this morning. Victoria High teaches two classes back-to-back – Stretch and Pilates – and I’ll be taking both of them. I used to be a regular in Victoria’s Pilates class a few years ago and I love her tender, nurturing teaching style.
The Stretch class turns out to be a sweet and relaxing 40-minute class. Some of the stretches are from yoga but it’s not necessary to know a single thing about yoga to do this class. I’m sure that’s what Victoria had in mind when she designed it. This class is probably most similar to Beverly’s Yoga/Stretch but it’s not quite like it either.
Over the course of 40 minutes, Victoria moves us through a variety of poses that stretch the entire body. All of it is gentle in nature and Victoria continually reminds us to not overdo it. “Stretching should feel good”, she says, “not hurt”. At the end of class, we do a complete relaxation pose, lying on our backs with our palms up. In yoga this pose traditionally ends all classes and its Sanskrit name is Shavasana (corpse pose). Victoria, though avoids using any yoga or Pilates terms because this class is just Stretch.
Victoria actually knows a lot about stretching because of her extensive training in Yoga and Pilates. She’s certified in both traditions and each of them have a lot to say/teach about the importance of flexibility and how to achieve it.
I’ll introduce Victoria more fully in the next blog but I can say here that her teaching style is calming and encouraging – I always find it uplifting to be in one of her classes. She’s also good about reminding everyone to remember his or her form and to do whatever is being instructed in a safe manner.
Victoria High
Victoria has been teaching this same class for almost eight years and not surprisingly she has a good following. There are about 16-17 in class this morning and that includes three men – I’m happy to say. The $25 gift certificate for this class goes to Chloe Lanston.
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