Diary of Mad Yogi: Talk about "Power" Yoga!

In the couple of weeks I've been a VIDA member I haven't had much time to test-drive their classes/instructors. Part of me has been hesitant as they're already announcing an upcoming schedule change that will shuffle instructors, what classes they teach, etc. I still have to get my ass to the gym so I've been on the treadmill a few times and attended a few yoga practices.

My first VIDA yoga class was on a Friday afternoon down at the Verizon Center location. The class was billed as a Power Class, described as a dynamic flow of poses focusing on strength building. To prepare myself mentally I show up way too early, spend 15 minutes trying to find the studio on the 4 floors of gym facilities, get settled, then realize there's a lady doing stretches that looks like Gumby and all I can do is hope she's not in the class. Time crawls by and the instructor finally shows up. Bendy lady leaves. Instructor explains she's a sub, puts on some music, and the class gets started. First weird thing: I'm the only guy there. As we're going through class, it becomes evident this is going to be a pretty mellow practice. We're not holding poses very long and going through a simple series A and B structure. Second weird thing: the flow between poses was off. Maybe I had gotten too accustomed to Kevin's Baptiste style or how the other instructors at Results went through the series, but this lady had me teetering off-balance constantly and my limbs kept repeating going on muscle memory to the next pose and I'd have to pay extra attention to see what she wanted us to do. Last weird thing: playing reggae music during yoga. I'm all for opening my mind to different styles of music. But listening to "no woman no cry" while trying to build strength in yoga just doesn't mesh.

Somewhat disenchanted by my first yoga experience at VIDA I went back to the schedule and found one of my Results instructors has an early Saturday morning class. Faith is fun, tough, and has helped me push my practice. Let me tell you that going to yoga at 9AM on Saturday is one of the most unnatural things I have ever done. I was awake but my body wasn't. My legs felt stiff, my shoulders were cramping, and in general a bit tired. No matter how I felt at the start of the class, 10 minutes into it my joints and muscles warmed up and I was moving like a well oiled machine. The adrenaline rushing through my head from a good practice made me feel good about getting up early for yoga and revived my interest in trying other classes at the gym.

Fast forward a week of inactivity due to crazy work schedules and travel, and I'm back in DC trying to do yoga. It may just be me, but I keep getting messed up on the VIDA website. Yesterday I looked up the evening class schedule and saw Mimi (Budokon) lady was teaching a Power class at 6:30. Bingo! That would certainly be a class I'd enjoy. Following a productive day at the office I head home to kill some time then walk over to the gym. The hands on the clock swing to 6:30 and a lady plugs her ipod into the stereo. Oh-no, not another sub. I was correct, but as she introduced herself she said she was subbing for Monica (???) and this was a vinyasa flow class. Despite my confusion I stayed put and followed the practice. It was certainly mellow, not very challenging, but good to get warmed up. VIDA doesn't leave any time between classes, so as soon as we were done people rushed in to set up for the next class starting in less than 5 minutes. I check the schedule and find Power Yoga with Ursula is next. Feeling rather bendy, warmed up, and with nothing else to do at home, I decided to stick around for another round of yoga.

I've been practicing yoga for 4 years now and have been exposed to a sundry of styles and instructors. On my list of "most challenging" you'll find Gregory, Mimi, and that ashtanga class I took at Flow a few times. This Power class is on a different league. Ursula, clearly a Puero Rican no-BS chick, kicked us into overdrive from the first pose. Talking about how she got back from a workshop where her instructor (Baptiste style, yea!) had her hold downward-facing down for 5 minutes, she moved us through series A and built up from there are a frightening pace. Five minutes into the practice I was sweating puddles. A girl next to me had a beautiful practice. She would do this one-legged scorpion hop into chataranga that looked amazing. We kept exchanging looks through the mirror while in wheel as Ursula spoke out like a drill sergeant. We couldn't help but laugh when she would ask us to take it to the next level, holding poses for 8 or 10 breaths. 60 minutes of pushing us hard, I was drenched in sweat from head to toes but feeling like I had shed a month's worth of worry and stress and was ready to take on the world.

This morning I rose unable to raise my left arm and wishing the twitching on my leg muscles would stop, but every bit of pain was worth it.