getting back in the groove

i'm finally back in town. and just as i had expected, during my recent five-day cross-country trip with my daughter, i had absolutely NO time to do any kind of yoga. i was up at 6am everyday, spent the rest of the day in constant motion, then would get back to the hotel shortly before midnight. after taking some time to plan out the logistics of the next day, i'd barely have enough energy left to get ready for bed before plopping down and calling it a night. too bad i couldn't listen to the yoga CD i'd brought along (see the previous post) so that i could get the benefits of a yoga class while i slept. after all, it supposedly works with things you have to memorize, doesn't it?

i did manage to get a good cardio workout while i was gone, though. i spent most of the time walking around college campuses, going uphill and downhill, and making my way up and down stairs. so while i didn't get a chance to stretch, i did a pretty good job of burning calories. in fact, i actually lost weight while i was gone (ok, so i'm down only two pounds, but considering all our all-you-can-eat cafeteria lunch buffets, that's an amazing feat in itself!)

so when my plane landed at midnight this morning, i was already trying to figure out which class i was going to take later in the day. after i got a good night's (or rather, morning's) sleep, of course.

i needed something tough yet doable, and maybe even inspiring and fun. naturally, the first teacher to come to mind was my buddy matt reyes. it had been a while since i had paid a visit to his studio, yogamatt, so i headed eastbound to los feliz and got there just as his evening hip-hop yoga class was starting.

there was a brand-new yoga student in the room, despite the fact that the class was labeled a level 2/3. the newbie was brought along by his female friend, who clearly appeared to have had some yoga experience under her belt. but what was she thinking??? i liken it to someone trying to teach someone to ski for the first time from the top of a black diamond run. or having someone drive on the freeway before they've even spent time on surface streets. if you start with the basics, you're less likely to get hurt and more likely to enjoy the experience. in other words, she should have brought him to either an introductory class or a level 1. ahhh... but what do i know?

anyway, matt gamely spent extra time with the new student, showing him the proper way to do a warrior 1, warrior 2, and so on, while making sure that the rest of us weren't held back. and honestly, if it weren't for the fact that the new guy was right in front of me, i probably wouldn't have noticed that he was the reason why we were holding poses a bit longer than usual.

because matt did such a great balancing act during class, i was able to get the yoga workout i wanted/needed while moving along to some good music. and after class, i was able to catch up on his latest goings-on. it feels great to be back!

so now that my yoga dry spell, so to speak, has come to an end, i wonder what interesting classes i'll be able to round up for the coming week. we shall see...