rising to the challenge, part one

sometime early january, i found this included in an email update from lululemon south bay:

Join us in exploring what 30 days of yoga can do for you! 30-Day Yoga Challenge begins Monday January 19th thru Sunday February 15th. 4 days of yoga in 4 weeks!

"4 days of yoga in four weeks" didn't sound like much of a challenge to me. i mean, that's just ONE class a week? that couldn't be right...

anyway, i happened to be in the south bay sometime last month and decided to pop by the lulu store for a quick look-see. and wouldn't you know it; it was january 20th and the yoga challenge had just started. the deal went something like this: if i took four classes a week for four weeks, got each teacher to initial and date the yoga challenge card, and turned in the card at the end of the four weeks, i'd get a free yoga mat and a 5-class pass! not bad, huh?

not wanting to turn down the chance for free yoga classes, i signed up. and as usual, the overachiever in me decided to ratchet it up a notch. i mean, 4 classes a week? piece of cake. how about a class everyday? a bit harder, but still no big deal... in the end, i committed myself to the ultimate challenge:

i would take a yoga class every day between january 19th and february 15th in a different location each day.

in other words, i wasn't allowing myself to repeat studios/gyms/whatever in that time period. crazy, i know, but since it's totally possible here in LA, aka yoga central, why not?

so here's how my first two weeks went:

week 1
1/19 - leslie kazadi at truyoga
1/20 - david lynch at yoga works south bay
1/21 - mark frankel at still yoga
1/22 - kishan shah at exhale venice
1/23 - knekoh fruge at yoga circle downtown
1/24 - hagar harpak at black dog yoga
1/25 - tom morley at lululemon brentwood

week 2
1/26 - annie carpenter at yoga works main street
1/27 - jesse lombardi at be love yoga
1/28 - bonnie johanson at spectrum club south bay
1/29 - jamila tazewell at downtown yoga loft
1/30 - jo tastula at yogaglo ++
1/31 - brigette dunn-korpela at core power yoga huntington beach
2/1 - *** surf city half marathon in huntington beach ***

i was doing really well until last sunday, when i was so exhausted after running 13.1 miles that i just plopped down on the couch and watched the superbowl on tv when i got home. i actually considered taking a restorative class that evening, but i got tired just trying to decide whose restorative to take :(

ok, so maybe i missed a day, but as far as the official rules go, i'm still good. so on to the next two weeks!

++ by the way, this seems like the perfect time to squeeze in a plug for yogaglo, a new concept in yoga classes:

there are websites that offer yoga audio classes, like yogi chocolate, and websites that offer yoga video classes, like my yoga online. there are some that charge per download, and others that charge a monthly subscription fee. in a way, yogaglo is like those sites, but maybe better. how so?, you ask.

for a monthly subscription fee of $18 -- the average cost of ONE yoga class -- you can stream as many yoga class videos as you want from the yogaglo website AND take as many in-house yoga classes as you want at the yogaglo studio in santa monica. granted, the site just went live january 30th and is still growing its collection of prerecorded videos as well as its in-house class schedule, but with anusara teachers like noah maze and steven espinosa and vinyasa flow teachers like jo tastula and genevieve fischer currently on their instructor list, you know that you'll have access to quality yoga classes, whether you're taking them privately at home or with a group at their studio. in addition, 5% of the profits will go to your choice of their non-profit partners.

here's more about them from their website:

Yogaglo is the new online yoga experience in HD video that provides the experience of being in the class at your home.

Yogaglo is everyone's yoga. Regardless of religion, culture, age, political views, something we all have in common is the human condition.

Yoga is the lifelong process of investing in the quality of our condition. Yogaglo's intention is to empower people around the world to engage in this process, to serve as a vehicle for social change by giving 5% of profits to our non-profit partners, and to unite the global yoga community to inspire regular practice.

Our classes are taught by experienced certified teachers who embody yoga and teach with an intimate understanding of the ancient yoga texts and various yoga traditions, whose devotion, lives and teachings are their art. Classes cover the spectrum of asana styles, meditation, lectures, workshops, and special events.

since i took jo's vinyasa flow class at their studio that first day, i ended up on the video that's now available for viewing (it's dated feb 02 2009). i was offered the option to stay out of camera range, but what fun would that be? besides, it was a chance to watch myself in action and see what corrections i need to make to my alignment. and also to see if i fidget as much as i think i do :)

since new visitors to the yogaglo site get a 15-day free trial period, you might as well give it a shot and see what you think.

fyi, the yogaglo studios are located at 1800 berkeley street in santa monica, between nebraska and olympic. so if you're a westsider like i am, that's one more studio conveniently located near you!