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Tuesday, February 07, 2006

daily blackboard special

it had been a while since i had taken one of david romanelli's classes, so i decided to head out earlier this afternoon to the exhale spa in santa monica. as i crossed the street and approached the spa, i noticed this written on the blackboard by the entrance:

Take a core fusion or yoga class and get 50% any spa service or any retail item

once i saw that, i practically ran into the store to see what i could get at half off! exhale's boutique has a wonderful assortment of yoga clothes, accessories, jewelry, and spa items that i'd been hesitating to buy merely because i thought they were overpriced. however, with 50% lopped off, the prices would actually approach reasonable; hence my mad dash to find that ONE item that i would take home with me when i left.

my first thought was to check out the clothing, but since those items eventually go on sale (although maybe not in the color nor size that i want/need), it made more sense to look at items that are never discounted, like the skidless towel. with a retail price of $50, being able to get it for only $25 sounded like a great deal. unfortunately, they no longer had the color i wanted. darn.

with 15 minutes left before class was to start, i had to put the shopping on hold and headed for class.

there were only four students in david's class, including myself. i guess the word hasn't gotten around yet about him nor the studio itself; all the other classes i'd taken at exhale were just as sparsely populated. so since there were only a handful of students for david to attend to, everyone received lots of personalized attention. in my case, it was an adjustment while i was in revolved half moon, a lower back massage while in downward dog, and a shoulder massage while in child pose. not only that, but we all got a neck and scalp massage while in we were in savasana. ahhh... heaven...

as i had said in an earlier post, dated 12/28, david's classes are mellower versions of the maha-style hip-hop classes (in fact, i know he's a maha devotee because i've seen him at matt's sunday morning classes). almost all the poses are accompanied by what could be considered "adult contemporary" music; today's selections were by tracy chapman, dave matthews, jack johnson, and the like. david also weaves into the practice various quotations and passages from yogis, philosophers, writers, as well as other wise men and women. i suppose one could say that while the yoga asanas take care of the body, the readings for the day take care of the soul.

a friend of mine, anne laderman swartz, used to teach yoga here in los angeles. she moved to phoenix some time ago; while there, she taught at david's studio. she has since moved to olympia, washington, but when she heard that david had moved to the LA area, she felt she needed to alert all her LA-based students on this new asset to the local yoga scene. here's an excerpt from her email message:

"I'm writing to tell all of you about a wonderful yoga teacher who has recently relocated to Southern California. His name is Dave Romanelli and he is one of the founders of At One Yoga, the studio that I taught at in Arizona. His classes are a lot of fun and I found him to be the best yoga DJ ever. Check out his website for more information: www.yeahdaveyoga.com "

attendance at david's classes at exhale should continue to grow as students find out about his style of teaching. not to mention the wonderful daily blackboard specials that the spa has to offer!

speaking of blackboard specials, i eventually found something that was worthy of the 50% off discount: a pair of be present kona pants that i'd been eyeing for some time now. maybe i'll try for that skidless towel the next time they have a similar deal...

postscript --
while reading up on the be present clothing line, i found this on their website:
"... Amy (Lopatin Dobrin) first designed yoga pants for her brother, Ian Lopatin, owner of At One Yoga in Arizona. Ian loved the pants so much, he asked Amy to make enough to sell in his studios in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. At One Yoga remains one of be present's largest clients..."

who would've guessed that there would be a tie-in between the yoga class i had taken and the pair of yoga pants i had purchased on the same day?