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Tuesday, May 02, 2006

community support

U Studio Yoga
5410 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 500
Los Angeles, CA 90036
website: www.andreamarcum.com

Yoga is not about impressing anyone. It is not about gymnastic ability or putting your foot behind your head. You are not required to be a woman, a Hollywood star or a chanting vegetarian (though, if you live in L.A., you might find yourself wanting to be any of those for no apparent reason).
Yoga is for all of us.
There is a reason why yoga has stayed with us over thousands of years, and why it is so popular now in the West. The frenetic pace with which we live our lives make us thirst for a place that we can slow down and regroup. Cell phones and email make it possible for us to find each other almost anywhere, yet somehow we have moved farther and farther away from a sense of self and community.


it's amazing what a community working towards a common goal can achieve together.

case in point is andrea marcum's new yoga home, u studio yoga. sometime in late march, she found herself needing to move out of earth's power yoga and into a new space. thanks to the help and support of her friends and students, in barely two weeks, her new studio was up and running. out of the woodwork came offers of aid from designers, lawyers, builders, and suppliers. in the amount of time it would take the normal person to just THINK about opening a studio, she was able to locate a property, sign the lease, renovate the space, and start teaching classes. what transpired was short of miraculous, especially out here in LA where things tend to get bogged down in red tape.

currently, she's the only yoga teacher at u studio, but she does plan to pull in other like-minded yoga instructors in the near future.

andrea's studio occupies two rooms on the fifth floor of an art deco building on the miracle mile. suite 508 is the office/boutique. this is where you sign in, purchase mats, props, books, and her signature "i heart u" clothing line. suite 500 is the yoga studio itself. it's a bright corner room with newly-installed bamboo flooring and freshly-painted walls. the room is somewhat on the small side, yet our class of just under a dozen students had ample room to move freely.

she teaches two classes a day, seven days a week; the evening classes accommodate the 9-to-5 crowd, while the morning sessions are for those with a more flexible schedule. the word has been getting out to her loyal devotees at her former location, so her classes have been fairly well attended. knowing that the evenings tend to fill up (she said she's had as many as 25 students in a class), i decided to avoid the crowds and showed up this morning. besides, today was the first day of her new tuesday/thursday 10:15 class, and you know how i am with inaugural events...

since there was an abundance of estrogen in the class this morning (we were all females in the class, at least until the lone male walked in at the last minute), andrea focused on hip openers: warrior 2, half moon, extended side angle, cobbler, pigeon. she took advantage of the small class size and gave us personalized attention, correcting alignment as needed. in my case, there were times when one hip was higher than the other, or when one was more forward than the other. when she pointed these out and made the necessary adjustments, i found that, at times, the poses actually became easier (yes, it's hard to believe that i would actually find the harder way to do something)!

her class was tough, but not overwhelming. i was able to follow along, yet it was enough of a workout for me that the towel covering my mat was drenched in sweat. and that, for me, is exactly what i was looking for today. i had wrung out the toxins i had accumulated over the week and felt great! not only that, but i learned some tips that i will keep in mind from now on. refresher classes with her are definitely in order...

with the support andrea currently receives from her community, i have no doubt that she will do well. i wish her the very best!

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Andrea marcum is the best yoga instructor in Los Angeles. Her classes take you deeper into your practice. The level of relaxation you will reach while practicing will help you get deeper into your posses and your body will be doing things you have never imagined it could do. Treat yourself to one of the best classes in town you will not be disapointed.

11:29 AM  

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