However, I’m on a mission to end this cycle. That’s right, ladies: I’m adding yoga back into my weekly routine. I’m in the process of trying out different yoga studios to see what works best for me. This week, I tried vinyasa yoga at both Penn’s Pottruck Health & Fitness Center and the nearby Dhyana Yoga Studio.
Pottruck Health & Fitness Center
Details: $10 for a drop in class, roughly $45 dollars for a session of eight or so classes. There’s something every day of the week, and the gym offers several different types of yoga, including vinyasa flow, ashtanga, and hatha. These yoga styles are different, and if you’re a newbie to yoga, or are a fan of several different types of yoga, Pottruck’s variety is a definite plus.
There’s a blanket, a strap, the sound of heavy breathing and the sight of unnatural bodily contortions. It’s just an average Saturday morning vinyasa flow yoga class with instructor Jacqui at Penn’s Pottruck Health & Fitness Center.
Jacqui is an energetic woman who is unnaturally upbeat for a Saturday morning. Before the start of class, she announces brightly that’s we’ll be doing back and shoulder work. Roughly translated, this means we’ll be working on everything, but she doesn’t want to scare us by saying so.
The teacher jumps right into the workout. No breath-work, no meditation to help us find our focus, not even a child’s pose to ease our muscles into the lesson. We literally start on our feet, doing sun-salutations to some unconventional music Jacqui found online. The tunes are pretty funky and eclectic, and I detect hints of electronica, pop, and traditional Indian beats.
Most of the dozen or so students really seem to know what they are doing. Between the human pretzel to my right and the full-length wall mirror in front of me, I can’t help but feel slightly self-conscious. But no worries: if you’re a beginner, you’ll find the props helpful. Don’t be afraid to use the strap to “lasso your foot” as you’re doing the really intense stretches, the blocks to steady your balance, and the folded-up blanket to give your hips some support during floor exercises.
We flow from posture to posture, sometimes disjointedly. I find myself making tweaks to some of the poses whenever I recognize Jacqui is missing a step.
And then, to my surprise, she disrupts the class to teach us headstands. I’m already struggling, so as soon as she announces this, I feel the color leave my face.
I’ve never done a headstand in a vinyasa class, and from my experience I’m not convinced it’s a necessary part of the practice. But with Jacqui’s help, I give it a shot. As my legs fly up towards the ceiling, and the blood rushes to my head, I demand she help me down almost immediately. I give myself a C for effort.
“Once you start you won’t want to stop,” Jacqui claims.
I never want to do a headstand ever again.
We wind down with the traditional half pigeon and core work, and conclude with an untraditional variation on adult’s pose, with our arms lying above our heads.
All-in-all, I have a good morning stretch, but I’m not thrilled with the intensity of the class or the lack of breath work. This class is definitely meant for the more-advanced yogi, and I’d definitely say the instructor made the focus “trendier” for the young clientele who frequent these lessons. I would not use this class to introduce newbies to vinyasa.
Dhyana Yoga West Philly
Details: $7 for a community class, $13.50 for a regular drop-in with a student ID. There are various packages you can purchase if you know you’ll be coming several times a week. Unlike sessions at Pottruck, Dhyana’s packages are pretty flexible, so you can choose which days you want to practice each week. It’s great for anyone with an erratic schedule. However, if you want to do anything other than vinyasa, you’re out of luck. The only exception is a once-a-week kundalini class. The studio can be found on 3945 Chestnut Street, next to Distrito.
A cloud of incense greets me as soon as I walk up the stairs to Dhyana Yoga West Philly for Thursday night class. The closer I get to the studio, the more cloying the fragrance.
The studio is decked-out with Buddha figurines, colorful tapestries and paintings, and tasteful plants. Unlike Pottruck’s studio, which looks like a converted ballet room, Dhyana studio actually looks like a place to do yoga.
Normally, there are fifteen to twenty students per class. But today, it’s just another girl and me being taught by the ever-so-Zen Johnathan, with an “h.” He’s soft spoken with peering eyes. It doesn’t seem like anything can faze him.
Whereas I felt dissatisfied with the lack of focus on breath at Pottruck, I find it to be quite substantial at Dhyana. We start and end our practice with meditation, chanting the traditional, “ohm.” The class itself is done in silence; no music for Johnathan’s class.
The focus of this class is more on relaxation. Johnathan tells us to think of our bellies like “a furnace” — apropos for the coming frost. We flow slowly through the movements, our teacher correcting us every time we strike a pose.
I don’t know about the other yogis reading my blog, but I’m personally not a fan of receiving that much attention from the instructor. Sometimes I just want to flow through the poses and do what feels right for my body. But, that may just be a matter of personal opinion.
Overall, the class seems to be targeted more towards beginners. Johnathan interrupts us between poses to explain the upcoming postures and tells us when to use the props. The moves are not that advanced, and, to my relief, there is no talk of headstands. But as relaxing as it is, I don’t feel like I receive a very good stretch from the class.
Conclusion
I miss yoga. I really miss yoga. But I don’t feel that either class caters to my needs. I want to be allowed to get lost in the movements rather than stop every two minutes to either listen to the teacher explain how to do a downward dog or to have my legs thrust above my head.
Yoga is a personal experience, so don’t let my thoughts stop you from trying Pottruck or Dhyana. For now, I think I’m going to try continuing my practice in the privacy of my bedroom. There’s no one to oversee me or correct me when I mess up. But it’s personalized and uninterrupted. I can choose my own music and my own moves, and set a pace that works best for me.