The adventures of a yoga snob continues........

I so badly wanted to love this yoga class tonight.  The teacher used to teach at another studio and was actually my first experience with vinyasa.  I really liked her.  She offered a challenging practice.  The thing was that she was so sweet about it that you didn't know how hard you worked until the next day when you tried to get out of the bed!

Anyway, when I found out where she was teaching I wanted to take her class.  What stopped me was the studio itself.  It's a bit intimidating for a not so typical yogini.  It's very much a fitness center.  But tonight, with my family having fun at the shore I found myself with a couple of hour to kill before they returned.  I checked the schedule and found that this teacher was teaching a class.

The reception area is totally intimidating.  The teacher comes to the desk as I'm signing in and she recognizes me.  (That's impressive since I haven't taken one of her classes in 5 years!)  She's still sweet and very welcoming.  The yoga room was also very welcoming.  Beautiful real hardwood floors.  The walls were painted a pretty yellow.  Oh, can I tell you about the bolsters?   The fabric was gorgeous!

The practice itself was okay.  It wasn't at all what I remembered her class to be.  Did she change her teaching style to accommodate the students at this studio or have I changed as a student?  Who really knows for sure.  The yoga sutras tell us that memory is not the most accurate means of knowing or maybe it's a little of both.  Afterall, change is the only constant right?

I suppose it's my pitta nature that makes me cringe when I hear sanskrit being mis-pronounced or when verbal instructions don't make any sense.  Saying fluffy yoga babble during class also makes me crazy.   Is it my pitta nature or am I a yoga snob?  Again, maybe it's a little of both.

Damn!  I didn't love the class.  I didn't leave with the same feeling as an SD yoga class.  I didn't feel the pull towards meditation after the class which almost always happens after an Inner Fire Yoga class.   What is it about an Inner Fire Yoga class that makes the practice a moving meditation?  I could tell you but until you experience it for yourself you won't really understand.  It's like trying to explain to someone the taste of a mango.  You don't really know what the mango tastes like until you bite into it.

I'm going to be more conscious of my verbal instructions.  I don't think I use fluffy yoga babble but I'll pay more attention to what I say while I'm teaching.  I have to say that I still like the teacher.  She has a very sweet presence.  Even though she offered really challenging asanas like crow, and wheel she wasn't  forceful or pushy like the last random class I took.  She offered the pose and allowed the student to decide what's best for them.  I appreciated that.

I really wanted to love this class tonight.  But with an expectation like that, the poor woman didn't stand a chance! When am I ever going to learn to let go of expectations!!! 

I really need to work on letting go..... Om Namah Shivaya!