Put Some Yoga On It

Private yoga studio comes with a view.

Tuesday I went to work on my fitness with Alison at a gym where she's been attending yoga class for a few months. The name for the place translated to "Longevity Center," which really cracked me up. Fortunately, they let me in for free to try the class, because a monthly membership is typically required to attend. We found places behind the five middle-aged Korean ladies already situated in the warm, spacious studio. They laughed and talked throughout the class, so even though I had no clue what they were saying, the atmosphere was lighthearted and welcoming. And that heated room felt so, so good after spending my days at school bundled up, drinking hot water.

I was ready for things like downward facing dog and various Warriors, but that's not how they do it at the Longevity Center. We began on our backs with some bicycling motions, then moved on to very forceful pelvic thrusts, which one lady in particular took very seriously and did extra vigorously. Some hamstring stretches. Rolling back and forth. Ab work. Deep side stretches. Headstands. I followed along with the others as best I could, and at one point we flipped onto our stomachs. Alison came over to pound on my back with her fists. And step on the balls of my feet with her heels. Naturally, I reciprocated. Seems like something that could make or break a potential friendship: thumping on each others' backs and stomping on each others' feet. Alison said the ladies asked where I was when she went to class Thursday - she didn't know how to say "She's thinking about it" in Korean and the closest she could manage was "She doesn't exist."

Finally doing yoga again reminded me of a great experience I had in early November at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis. After a couple warm-up stretches, the instructor had us hold a plank position on our forearms for a while - something that's always brutal for my weak little core, and I didn’t last long. Following a rest, she led us through a number of seemingly non-related exercises: isolating our hips, then isolating our upper back, then isolating this or that. Then we did the plank again, with astonishing ease. That sneaky little lady.

Then the next step was handstand, something I'd never attempted (luckily we were using the wall for help). Too shy to ask for help, I kicked and flailed, attempting to get into it on my own. Then I sucked it up and asked the teacher to help me out. I kicked up into the pose with no problem, knowing she was there to hold me. Soon I tired and came down and she went on to assist others. Feeling like a champ, I tried to get into the pose again. No success. Frustration. Swearing to myself. But then from across the room, she gently corrected me: "Lindsay, you're looking in the wrong place. You need to look at the floor beneath you ask you kick up, not at the wall on the other side of the room." Ohhhhhhhhh. BOOM. Up. On my own. Sweating and smiling.

Now, as I flounder around a new country by my lonesome, I keep trying to think of those little lessons from that class and stop trying to figure everything out at once. I just hope someone will tell me when I'm looking in the wrong place.

I'm excited for my yoga future – class for one via iTunes in my bright little living room. PLUSSSS, the lovely Stephanie Guidera is working on an athlete painting and it's based on a photo she took of me doing yoga. Whoa! I can’t wait to see the finished product – I need to keep up with a routine so it stays believable that I was the model. Check out her work!