This is me after class
“Now that you are warmed up, I want you to find wall space and do a hand stand.” Shannon the Yoga Instructor says. The last time I ever tried to do a hand stand was when I was twelve years old. I was probably trying to be a Gymnast or something in my backyard.
It’s a small sized class. I stand back and watch the others attempt the hand stand with their feet against the wall. My Best friend Abbey does it like it’s her day job. First try and I actually did it! I, Andy, in my 35 year old body did a full hand stand! Now I can cross that off of my bucket list. 😉
The hand stand pose was one of the easier poses of the night. We also did a wheel pose while doing push ups. Wish I had a photo of that one!
This is my third class that I have taken of Shannon’s. I have to say, that it may be time to join Cirque Du Soleil! I can now brush my hair with a comb in between my toes. Just kidding. Maybe I can? Oh, never mind.
I can tell that I am becoming more flexible. After three yoga classes, I can now do The Bird of Paradise pose. I took a photograph of my best friend doing it, but can not post the photo because I know she would disapprove. So here is one I found on the internet.
Bird of Paradise
What I love about the Yoga class is that it is Vinyasa Flow or some know it as Power Yoga. And Shannon has several portable heaters in the room to make you sweat. The heat is to help you stretch further into the pose. Or to make you feel like a pretzel.
But seriously, Abbey goes to the class to help with her Hip Displesia and I go for strength and core.
Funny moment in class. The Instructor is teaching us to be light on our feet. She tells us to float forward from plank to feet in between hands without making a sound. Guess who sounded like an elephant? Me! All of five feet two inches. Probably the tiniest one in the room. Everyone got a good laugh out of it though.
Ok, so here are a few pics we took after class that day.
Learning Crow Pose
Successful Crow Pose
Side Crow
What I have learned with some of Yoga’s advanced moves is that you have to learn to trust yourself and your body.
Shannon said that eventually I will be able to do this!
Side Crow Variation
Here is one more of my friend Abbey doing The Scorpion Pose. She used to be a dancer. Can you tell?
Abbey doing Scorpion Pose
Let me sum up my experience in Shannon’s class.
I thought the class was Intermediate to Advanced. You will sweat so bring a towel. Great for stamina, strength, flexibility, improved blood circulation, better digestion, core strength. No mirrors, but I loved that Shannon is hands on and she will go around the room and correct you. It is not meditation yoga. It is more of a fast flow and breathing to get from one pose to the next. She does turn the lights off at the end of the session which is nice. She did mention that she made the last class harder because she knew she had all advanced yogis that night. She does do more beginner moves if there are beginners in her class. I am looking forward to taking her class outside of the room and outside at a local park.
To find out more information or to sign up for a free class go to
http://www.dragongym.com/index.php?page=ourprograms/yoga.htm
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