Gym: weights, abortive yoga

[redbird]

I got to the gym later than usual today, which means that there was a vinyasa yoga class about to start when I was done with my cardio, weights, and stretching. I decided to give it a try, which started with sitting on the floor with three other people while we awaited the instructor (he blamed the E train when he got there).

I lasted about five minutes. There were several problems. The simplest was that I was underdressed: the minimal outfit I wear for lifting weights is too light for lying on the floor focusing on my breath. That's fixable, if I want to do it again: bring long pants and a t-shirt. Second was that there was a spin class in another room at the same time, and they play their music very loud. Loud enough that I could feel it through the slightly raised floor of the room we were in (which, again, might not have been a problem for a class that hadn't had us lying flat on our backs). Third, the instructor started by having us breathe in and out, slowly, then explained that meditation isn't mystical, it's a technique, and like any technique you can improve with practice. This is in fact true. A minute later, he was talking about focusing on the moment as a way of finding our "true selves" and "peace beyond understanding." If you're selling mysticism, okay, but don't claim it's something else. Then he had us pull our legs close to our chest and wrap our arms around our calves, and told us to keep breathing slowly and deeply. Sorry, I can't give you both of those at once. And I was still cold. I grabbed my things and got up. He asked if it was something he said, and I just said "too cold": it was simplest, and I didn't want to disrupt the class for the other students.

I think I'm looking for a different kind of yoga, as well as a different instructor and slightly warmer clothes, if I pursue it again soon (I think I've taken two yoga classes in the six years I've been a member of this gym, not counting today; I took yoga weekly for a couple of semesters in high school, but that was to deal with the phys ed requirement).

Weight lifting details:

Cardio, 17 minutes, top heart rate 137
Chest press, 70 pounds, 12, 6; 65 pounds, 3 (to round off that second set)
Leg press, 270 pounds, 3 sets of 13 (upped it again already)
Balance ~fly, 55 pounds, 2 sets of 15 with each foot forward (4 sets total)
Calf raise, 82.5 pounds, 13, 10; 77.5 pounds, 12
Wrist curls, 35 pounds, 3 sets of 15

Crunches, 4 sets of 30 (because I launched into an extra set while thinking about something unrelated)
Back arch, 3 sets of 17
Tree, 4 sets of {3 on each leg}

Balance lateral raise, 5 pounds each hand, 15; 2.5 each, 2 sets of 15
Hip adduction, 110 pounds, 13, 9
Hip abduction, 95 pounds, 13, 11
Bicep curl, 10 pounds each hand, 3 sets of 20

Stretches

Comments

[redbird]

He specifically told us to have our shoulders off the floor, so either I described it badly, it's a different pose, or he doesn't know what he's doing.

If I were serious about yoga, I might stop into the yoga center that is occupying the former convent near my house, but if I take yoga at the gym I get it at no extra charge.

[zingerella.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm...it could have been a different posture, or a difference in the way the pose is done in different practices, or I could be completely misinterpreting how we do the pose in my classes. (*lies down on floor to see what the muscle-memory says. Find that it says shoulders flat. Makes mental note to check that with Tuesday-night instructor*)

My Tuesday night class is a Pilates-yoga fusion with an instructor who trained in Hatha yoga, whereas my Saturday class is a Hatha intensive—I find them complementary.

When I had a gym membership, I tried a few of the yoga classes offered there. That was what inspired me to start a list of traits I looked for in a yoga instructor—the yoga instructors at gyms were frequently fitness instructors who had taken yoga, and decided they could teach it, but they hadn't done the intensive, exhaustive yoga teacher training that my yoga teachers had done, so they frequently didn't correct people's alignment, or offer less strenuous alternatives. This isn't to say that the guy at your gym isn't properly trained, just that I found when I was at a gym that it wasn't worth taking the yoga classes there.

Since I don't like gyms and I do like the yoga and Pilates classes, I eventually decided to forgo the gym membership and buy class passes for the two studios I frequent. As a fitness regimen, the yoga and Pilates plus dancing and cycling (three seasons of the year) work well for me.

Sounds like the gym works well for you overall, though, so it might just be a matter of trying any other yoga classes they offer to see if one's a better fit.