Heather - Days Thirty-Two - Thirty Five

I went away over the weekend for my birthday. I went to Chicago (Naperville, really) to meet my aunt, mother, and cousin's wife for a girl's weekend out. Though none of my family members are regular (if ever) yoga practioners I was determined (as it was my birthday) to get to a class everyday!

Thursday I got to the airport super early, so I changed into my yoga clothes and found a quiet corner near my gate, laid out my mat and did an hour of Yin - well, I added a headstand just because I love inverting and was really feeling it. I slipped into my iPod world and had a much better flight for it!

While in Chicago I did manage to take yoga on Friday and Saturday. On Friday I visited Universal Spirit. A pretty little space, has hosted WAH! in the past. They offer yoga to all ages - children's classes, seniors' classes, pre/post natal and focus on Hatha styles. The class I took was at 8am on Friday. I have never taken a Hatha class and the desciption of this class said that we would warm up with a few suns, move through some standing and proceed to seated. That was not the case. Generally, the class was uneven in its offerings. I would take class there again, but probably not with the same teacher. I do believe, however, that she is a good teacher, she just didn't align with what I wanted out of a yoga class.

On Saturday morning, 8:15, I took my first Baptiste Power Yoga class at Power Your Om, also in Naperville. I was a little nervous, due to the reputation that that style has, and was very happy to have gone. It was to the point, there was no teacher opening chatting, just pose and go. The teacher really took the opportunity to encourage mindfulness while we were sweating it out on our mats. The sequencing was logical and simple. I would definitely go back or even try Baptiste here in its homeland!

On Sunday, it was a little airport yoga and then home to teach that evening.

Before going I searched high and low for a Mysore or Ashtanga studio. And I considered just doing self-practice at the hotel, but the floor in the gym wasn't conducive to a yoga mat and there was carpeting in the hotel room. So what I learned was that yoga - on some level - is yoga. It doesn't matter who is teaching, or how warm the room is, or whether you are sweating like crazy or chilling out in badha konasana over a bolster. Your practice is always in your hands and no teacher can make you do any pose or go to any depth that you don't choose to do. Yoga is for listening to your own body and while we have teachers that are like the finger pointing to the moon, it is our job to not get caught up in the hand, but to follow it's direction and know the moon with our own eyes.

Wishing you hapPiness and metta from a little dot in the universe called Boston,
Heather