Bambu Yoga on Main Street in Lawrenceville has been running a 30 Day, $30 special. For thirty days you can take as many of their classes as you like with as many different instructors, styles, and times as you see fit. At the end, there is no obligation to sign up for a longer commitment.
I am nearly half-way through this challenge. I have taken nine classes and have opened my eyes to the world of yoga.
The first lesson I learned is I am not nearly as flexible or in nearly as good of shape as I thought going into it. A humbling thought indeed.
The next lesson I learned was the word "yoga" encompasses everything from deep meditative practice to powerful stretches that involve a lot of balance.
The third lesson I learned was that different instructors have different approaches even within the same studio and the same style of yoga.
The fourth lesson I learned is yoga can both be fun and you can leave in pain -- not necessarily at the same session, but sometimes at the same session.
The fifth lesson I learned is sitting still is harder than it looks, and harder than it should be.
For those who know what these words mean, I have tried Yin, Restore, Restore Fusion, Beginning, Power, and Restore Mix. I think my favorites are Beginning and Yin.
This weekend I will not have time to get to a class for four days. These four days will help me figure out if I want to continue the commitment, or if it was something fun to try, but not really me. Both answers are okay. Really.
Update: 2/3 of the way through. I was only able to make it to a couple of classes last week. One I loved (beginner yoga) because the teacher encourages us to laugh as we try and not take ourselves too seriously. One I did not like (yin) because the teacher encouraged us to stretch to new points, one which really hurt my legs and the other which made me feel as if I was going to pass out (hands twisted and raised above the head for 3 minutes, repeat with the other hand on top). It was an uncomfortable situation.
We'll see what this week brings. I only have 10 days left on my trial.
Update: 30 days later. I only found one teacher I really liked (Jen Jen). I liked her because she made us laugh and feel as if we were all in the yoga class together instead of individually. She did not insist on saying things like "your pose is your own," then come over and correct my pose making me feel as if I am failing at yoga (probably not their intent, but I found it distracting). We held our balance poses together and congratulated each other on staying upright. It felt fabulous! Unfortunately she is not a regular teacher and I don't want to pay to continue without her. I meant to stop by this week to thank her for the wonderful experience.
In the end I am glad I tried it, but it is not something I want to stick with at this point in my life. I did feel the benefits in my running, so there is a chance I'll look for another studio and try again someday. The benefit of being able to walk to yoga, though, is very appealing.
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