Posts Tagged ‘things that happen in class’
We are open tonight
kim on 3:55 pm February 13th, 2007 / Be the first to comment! »
We will be open tonight for class except for our prenatal and challenge class. these two classes will be canceled due to weather conditions.
one more thing on the guy yoga phenomenon sweeping the dc area
kim on 1:08 pm February 2nd, 2007 / 4 Comments »
the most common thing we hear from guys contemplating yoga is their fear over being inflexible. they’re concerned that when they get into the class, they’ll feel stupid or strange or uncomfortable trying to touch their toes when surrounded by “bendy” chicks who might as well have the floor removed under their hands because they can reach further than gravity.
here’s the news flash: bendy people are inflexible also, to such a degree that many yoga teachers, “flexible” themselves, don’t notice that, for example, a willowy woman with joints that bend like gumby is actually holding tremendous blocks in her groin, between her shoulder blades and, often, in her neck. this happens because she is so “flexible” elsewhere.
think about it as a pulse within a closed system, like the give a bridge has with all that weight traveling over it. when one spot gives, another has to tighten or else the entire structure will collapse. so make no mistake: what appears to be flexibility is often a mask for painful tightness elsewhere.
most important for most western men out there: in many ways you’re starting from a better place if you feel tight everywhere.
a) unlike the flexi-ladies, you don’t have to unlearn the pattern of being too loose in one place, and too tight in another, and
b) you are basically starting from scratch.
everything will hurt so good (thanks john cougar), and the changes in your body will appear more wide-reaching, and more pleasurable, faster. it’s easier on the mind if it has only one place to focus on (even if that one place is the entire body), versus it having to figure out what’s tight, what’s loose, and how everything works together in a more appropriately executed yoga pose.
another boundless testimonial
kim on 8:17 am January 31st, 2007 / 1 Comment »
and we’re happy to post this testimonial after the Washington Post Express article yesterday on “Downward Dudes!” i recommend reading this thoughtful, interesting account of men doing yoga (mostly at our studio!). Following are some thoughts from a male boundless student.
“I’ve tried a variety of yoga studios, in several cities and several countries, during my ongoing struggle to develop a better relationship with my somewhat inflexible, desk-bound, middle-aged male body. Boundless Yoga has been easily the best of these. What I particularly appreciate is the mindfulness BY’s instructors model for us; the adjustments that they have helped me perform — with none of the dismissive “but you’re doing it wrong!!” attitude that I have encountered elsewhere — have done not just my body but also my mind a world of good. Indeed, ‘a world of good’ would be a nice way of describing everything that BY represents.”
-gh
Dr Brendan Feeley astrological talk tonight
kim on 4:58 pm January 26th, 2007 / 2 Comments »
8-10 pm tonight
$10 at the door
Dr. Brendan Feeley launches his monthly astrology talks. come join us on this blustery winter night to learn about the astrological events influencing the month ahead.
beginning yoga versus intro to yoga
kim on 10:38 am January 22nd, 2007 / Be the first to comment! »
this is a question i have been asked a lot since the beginning of the year. what is the difference, according to boundless, between an intro-to-yoga series and a beginning yoga class? further, if i am a beginner, can i take the open hatha class?
everyone learns differently, and beginning students who enjoy a step-by-step learning process will like the intro-to-yoga series. if you are a beginning student similar to the one i was when i started yoga in 1995, you will do well in a beginning yoga or open hatha class. this is because you’d rather learn more independently, as in, you’ll take the information the teacher gives you, go home or perhaps, later, to another class, and think about it. this, to you, is preferable to learning information in a packaged, more systematic way.
it’s kind of like taking the myers briggs test: if you’re a J, there’s a good chance you’ll be down with series yoga. a P, and the more random approach is for you.
put another way, learning yoga is like learning a new language, except you already know it. you’re simply allowing yourself, in whatever yoga class you take, to be reintroduced to concepts your body already understands. to the extent that poses feel weird (or, for that matter, spike your nervous system like backbends often do), that’s just your brain doing some blocking and tackling for the body. the natural flow of things is much less staccato and tin-man feeling. as you ease into this flow, the breath, and indeed the mind and body, move more freely. in short, take the class in which you know you’ll feel the most relaxed.
yoga trust
kim on 3:26 pm January 19th, 2007 / 1 Comment »
my practice blows. i decided that last night as i was taking a yoga class: the stresses of running a small business, in particular, and to a lesser degree my own conditioned response to take on more than i can chew, have prevented me from having a real asana (pose) practice over the past year. i have been incapable of developing space in my life to practice yoga on my own, in a way because it’s so lonely to practice that way. (therefore) i have come up with scores of other things to do, daily, other than go to my yoga room and stay there for a little bit.
like all boundless students, i am electing now to pay for what i could do, on my own, for free. i am doing this in order to practice in a community, and to put myself under the tutelage of someone who knows more than i do.
it is such a relief. i am so grateful to give myself over to two teachers (two classes a week, one in herndon, one in bethesda) who a) know what they are talking about, b) want to help me, and c) attract a group of like-minded people desiring to learn in the same way i want to learn.
in savasana (corpse pose, the last pose of class), as i struggled to be quiet and still, i was reminded of how difficult it is to relax. of course i know this–intellectually we all do. but to lie there with 30 other people and feel the whole room careen into softness, well, that’s why i titled this blog post “yoga trust.” it is critical that you feel safe in a yoga class, that your yoga teacher have the capacity to create a space in which you can, in fact, attempt to relax, and that during the more physically-based moments (learning to stand correctly, experiencing an arm balance for the first time, letting go of your self-criticisms in a forward fold) you are cared for. this caretaking might not come the way you want it; and it is up to you to determine whether the teacher is knowledgeable, ego-aware, and compassionate.
the thing is, at the end of the experience, as you relax into undoubtedly the hardest pose in the class (again, savasana), you need to feel a level of trust — that you’re in the right place, at the right time, and that it’s all good.
the right class for you
kim on 12:43 pm January 18th, 2007 / 3 Comments »
so i’m back in the saddle after living out of a suitcase for a month. i’ve found that traveling is oppositionally correlated to sustaining a regular blog. this is an interesting first chakra issue: when you are not grounded (and can you be, traveling? that is my question to the energy practitioners out there.), it is difficult to manifest anything, especially from your creative source.
this entry, and the ones coming up for the rest of the month, are devoted to explaining not just the types of classes we have at boundless, but our teachers and their approach. and mine. i will first start with the types of classes to answer the many questions we always receive at the beginning of every year: how should i get into yoga? how many times a week should i practice? what should i wear? what type of yoga do you teach at boundless? should i do the intro to yoga series or the beginning classes? what, in god’s name, is a “challenge” class, and how do i know if i’m up for that? can i do an open hatha class if i am a beginner? and so on.
i am recounting questions our front-desk sirens, teachers, and i have received. i’m sure there are more. start posting, start asking, and i’ll respond daily (or every other day, as i continue to unpack the suitcase) with answers explaining what class is right for you at boundless.
we are open today for all classes!
kim on 1:05 pm January 15th, 2007 / Be the first to comment! »
happy MLK day (observed)!
check out our new classes
kim on 7:30 pm January 1st, 2007 / 2 Comments »
we are grateful and excited to introduce all these new classes to the studio starting this week! yogilates, yoga for guys, wake-up vinyasa, restorative yoga series, pranayama breath series, and more! call us or email with any questions.
