I bought a pair of pants yesterday. They are suitable for yoga classes. They are not yoga pants. Dudes can’t buy yoga pants. I bought pants suitable for yoga. They are suitable for yoga partially because they are not suit pants. They are not form fitting, binding, or otherwise constrictive. They are simple, loose, and flowing. Like yoga.
Which I did for the second time in my life, and the first time in at least a decade, last Sunday. I sucked at it. Then again, I am pushing 40 and have not run in weeks while continuing to eat as if I had. Add to that my natural tendency to sweat like a chocolate fountain and you have a pretty lethal combination. I looked bad. I did not perform well. That was all fine.
The class was an Anasura class. It’s a bit slower, I gather. The forms are called out and one might move from one to the next but they are not so much done in rapid succession like Bikram (from what I gather. I’ve never done Bikram.) Anasura is a bit more spiritual as well. I “om”ed. It was great. Plus I got a good workout without wrecking my already wrecked back, which is a subject for discussion at another time.
Anyway, now I am trying to find another class to go to. Once a week does not seem like quite enough to constitute a “practice.” But I’m having a hard time figuring out where to go. There is a Bikram place, but that seems a bit more athletic than I want. (Yes, I have run marathons, but let’s revisit the back.) There is an Ashtanga class in the early morning at the center where I already took a class. When I asked the teacher of the class I took, she almost immediately said “yeah, no. you don’t want to go there.” She also added some observations about 20 year olds being able to do certain things that maybe we should not do. How old does she think I am?
Probably pushing 40, as I am. Going to vegan restaurants, driving hybrid vehicles, and wearing socks with sandals. These things are not enough for me. I have to practice yoga too, and embody all the stereotypical aspects of this place I live. That probably should not be as embarrassing as I make it. As a friend pointed out, that’s what I was after in the first place. Might as well embrace it.
“friend”?
also, while bikram has a slight boo-yah quality, i think you’d do fine with it.
Ok, well you may have identified some slight identification crisis going on here. Still trying to sort through issues of who gets name checked where and how. Also, I am becoming more open minded about the Bikram thing. How will I know unless I try?
You should read Stretch by Neal Pollack about his transformation into a yoga dude. I think Bikram’s a bit overrated myself – I don’t believe the regimented routine fits the spirit of yoga. But that’s just me!
Yes, but I totally blew off yoga to buy a tablet computer. Kind of shows where my priorities are, huh?