sexy yoga

Yoga Blend
2918 1/2 Magnolia Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 943-3880
website: www.yogablend.com

Deciding which class to take can be so confusing. But not to worry, Yoga Blend is not just a blend of styles, but also a blend of levels! You will never need to feel like you are in the wrong class. The beginner will always feel completely comfortable and the veteran will consistently feel challenged. Modifications are verbally offered to students throughout each class, to ease poses for beginners as well as to take even the most advanced practitioners to their next level. We feel this philosophy helps to nurture the non-competitive aspect of yoga by allowing all of us to grow and learn from each other.
We want you to come to the studio, relax, catch up with friends, take an awesome yoga class, have fun and leave feeling great!

i've always heard about how yoga increases and/or improves your balance, muscle tone, strength, flexibility, energy, focus, and much more.

but can yoga really make you feel more sexy, more creative, more fertile?

that's what the luna flow class at yoga blend in burbank claims to be able to do, so being the ever-curious yogi that i am, i made it my mission to go and find out.

since i had plans to go to the hollywood bowl that morning, it seemed like an opportune time to check out the surrounding area so i could add another yoga studio to my list. the city of burbank was just a few miles north of the bowl on cahuenga, and yoga blend was right there on magnolia, just east of cahuenga.

scanning the class schedule, i noted the usual offerings: level 1, level 1-2, pre/post natal, gentle, luna flow, restorative...

luna flow? according to yoga blend's website, it is

‘Sexy yoga’ that will focus on the energy of the 2nd and 4th chakras to increase creativity, sexuality and fertility. Suitable for everyone (yes, all you men too!). Also great for pre/post natal. All levels welcome.

the class is taught by vicki howie, who "completed her teacher training at Yoga Villa, in North Hollywood, where she learned Hatha Yoga basics, as well as the unique practice of Female Balancing, developed by Brenda Strong."

... i suppose it makes sense that the actress who plays the recurring character mary alice young on the sexy show desperate housewives would be indirectly responsible for this sexy yoga class...

after spending the morning lounging at the bowl with my long-time friend CKD, we both drove to burbank to share a leisurely lunch and catch up on the changes in our lives since we last saw each other (had it really been a year?). i mentioned that i was headed to a yoga class later that afternoon and tried to talk him into joining me. after all, he introduced me to highs of marathon running and snow skiing over 15 years ago, so i felt it was my turn to return the favor and introduce him to the highs of yoga. claiming he had better things to do, he begged off. maybe he would have thought otherwise if i had told him that he would be in a room full of sexy women?

yoga blend is a small storefront near the corner of magnolia and catalina. except for the one-hour parking time limit on magnolia itself, there was lots of free parking on the surrounding side streets. i had no problem finding the studio, especially since i was immediately drawn to the yummy cupcakes store right beside it :)

maybe overly eager to get to class, i had gotten there half an hour early and wasn't surprised that the front door was locked. luckily, bekah finch, another yoga blend teacher, noticed me through the window and let me in. there was more than enough time for me to register and pay for the class (at the discounted KCRW rate!), change into my yoga duds, AND pay a visit to the cupcake place. when i got back with my red velvet cupcake nicely boxed for the trip home, many students had already arrived and were setting themselves up in the room.

by the time vicki started us off in supported supta baddha konasana, there was one lone male in the sea of women. i wondered if he was there to increase his own creativity and sexuality or to experience us women increasing ours...

i soon found myself bending, stretching, and gyrating with the others to soothing r&b music. let go. feel good. be sexy.

the focus was on the 2nd and 4th chakras, so the poses were primarily hip and heart openers. there were lots of squats for the hips and backbends for the heart. it was an all-levels class, and options were available for both the beginner and advanced practitioners.

when the class ended, i was eager to get home, not because i was looking forward to using my supposedly increased sexuality or creativity, but because the yummy cupcake sitting in a box on the passenger seat kept calling my name. i later found out that stimulating the 2nd chakra also stimulates the sense of taste, which probably explains why it turned out to be the most delicious morsel of red velvet cake i've had in a long while :)

just like david romanelli and katrina markoff have their workshops on yoga and chocolate, maybe yoga blend should offer a workshop on yoga and cupcakes. imagine a class featuring yummy cupcakes' blue hawaiian, cosmopolitan, lemon drop, mai tai, margarita, mojito, and pina colada flavors (made appropriately with rum, vodka, and tequila) -- what a wonderful tasting event that would be!

remember, i came up with the idea first...