I have practiced Yoga at home for a long time, the type of Yoga that I have always known –the body as a bridge, the body as a tool to transcend beyond into Samadhi, emphasizing the Hindu scriptural underpinnings of the practice, studying deeply the profound sutras of Patanjali and The Bhagavad Gita. For me a simple Padmasana ( Lotus pose) is more Yoga than Yoga could ever get. I have never been acrobatic with my body and never sought out ways to be either. It was always an internal practice that I adopted into my lifestyle. Until..
A few weeks ago I was invited to a charity event, raising funds for our displaced Syrian friends. This was in Glow Yoga. The moment I entered the studio I was greeted by a disarming energy of acceptance and honesty. Jennifer Hammond lead the Yoga class with a yogi sense of humor and confidence. It was Halloween. We howled and barked at the moon, we faced the downward dog with wit and chanted Ommmm to the glowing golden sky and the burnished marshlands. The Prashadam, sesame blended brownie which was distributed after class was delectable. It reminded me of some sweetmeat from India.
I had to go back to Glow and yoga, the very next day. I decided to try a Hot Yoga class. Jennifer Guthrie was the teacher. There is a certain humility and grace in the way she teaches that inspires the practitioner to reach for more within, be it for a new asana that you want to attempt or stay longer in one that strengthens your resolve or endurance. This is the quintessential spirit of the Yoga studio as Jennifer Guthrie is the owner her work has become a beautiful extension of herself here.
Breeze fluttered in the next day as I joined yet another hot yoga class in the Sky box. The high temperature did not slow her down. She has an energetic style and her enthusiasm came in like waves and made me feel like I was surfing and not yoga-ing. Breeze helped me get my crow pose down (work in progress, always). When configuring a way to hoist myself up on my elbows, I struck a particular moment when I found just that right balance, or that perfect instant of complete weightlessness, a suspension- I would almost equate it to a turiya moment, where nothing exists. Once again establishing the body as a bridge to further or deepen your “yog” or union with the beyond. Breeze’s compelling story about how yoga healed her life has yet been another confirmation of miracles that present themselves in all walks of life.
Naya is the sage. She has that all encompassing “yogi” look and feel to her. She uses the Sanskrit names of all the asanas while explaining that in English as well, profoundly honoring the age old practice. The 75-minute hot yoga classes will inspire you to break through mental barriers by way of what the body can do and how it can blossom into the ultimate Lotus or the Padmasana.
After a week of doing yoga at Glow, I received a call from Melissa. She checked on how I was doing and if there was anything she could do to help. Along with the professionalism, I detected an actual care and love from Glow-yoga and I will continue to glow and grow in my practice with the loving yogis of our community.
To maintain the integrity of the original science and art of yoga is a challenging mission. The careful balance between convention and current has to be preserved. Yoga, is not something static and ancient but a practice that flows through cultures, generations, countries, continuity, and flux, tradition and change. I am willing to glow with the flow.
