Namaste with friends!

Yesterday, Geoff and Elizabeth invited Bo and I to join them at Life In Motion yoga studio since his sister, Jennifer, was subbing for the regular teacher. Friday night they both raved about her teaching style and promised that the class would leave you begging for more but your muscles begging for mercy. Life In Motion is a small studio located at 105th and Broadway on the Upper East Side. I had never ventured north of 95th street and therefore was amazed with the area. It’s located on the second floor above a divine bakery. Imagine smelling fresh bread and treats while in downward dog! Due to the studio’s size it is a bit difficult to enter especially during the winter. There was a flood of people leaving the earlier class which meant the boot/coat closet area was quite congested. Luckily Geoff and Elizabeth showed up a few minutes after I arrived and directed me to the sign in desk and studio. The staff was friendly and excited that their sub had drawn a following. The class was $10 per person for first time visitors and then $2 to rent a mat. I immediately regretted not lugging my mat from home. These were unfortunately the dirtiest, thinnest, studio mats i’ve ever rented. I was appaled that they charged me for the thin mat. Oh well, that is what I get for not bringing my own! The studio quickly filled and Bo and I grabbed spots in the back since this was his first hour and a half vinyasa class. He has only taken 5-6 yoga classes previously and most of them were bikrham. The class began with the longest chant series i’ve ever heard but Jen told us this is something the studio requires as it helps ground each person in the practice and the present state. Hmm, not sure three minutes of chants really does that for me. Jen’s music selection was fantastic and really helped me find my groove as we moved through the poses. Her class focused on opening up our hips and lower backs while strengthening the core with a number of pigeons, downward dogs, and plank poses. I loved that I truly didn’t know what would come next as it didn’t follow the typical warrior 1, warrior 2, etc pattern. In fact, we never entered warrior 2 during the class! Elizabeth was certainly right, shivasana was amazing as Jen personally walked around to each participant and adjusted their shoulders!

If the studio wasn’t such a far trek I would definitely return as the price is very reasonable and the staff was pleasant. However, due to the 7 subway being shutdown for 9 weekends, the trek took almost 45 minutes. But, Bo and I have already decided that if Jen is teaching again next Saturday then we’ll definitely be there! Hopefully I can convince her to do a few one on one classes. My goal is to become comfortable in my practice and make improvements on my inversions. This is often difficult in packed classes as the instructor doesn’t have time to provide proper coaching. Have any of you ever taken small or 1:1 yoga classes? Is it worth the price?