59 West 19th Street
Price - $20 / unlimited week
4 classes - $5/class. no mat fee
Having done 4 yoga classes in the past 6 days, i'm ready for a break at the gym. at the end of this post you will see how i'm planning to do it. and it's kind of awesome.
anyway --
I decided to take 3 more classes at the Lotus to both maximize my savings and also to get to know the place a bit better and give it more of a chance.
I got all fired up for a class called Breakti - the studio's site defined it: Unites yoga, street dance and devotion into an exciting, fun and dynamic class. Get Down in your Dog!
Ok so it wasn't the description that sold me - but rather the idea. Capoeira is a form of street dance and I could definitely use adding some grace to my game and "Breakti" might be just the thing.
I was ready to go and had my schedule worked out to make the class but I made a giant mistake. I googled "Breakti" and after googling it, I went to a youtube link. And what I saw was this:
And I knew I couldn't go into this class, at the Lotus, with a straight face, eat a huge piece of humble pie and push through it. I'm just not there yet. I havent let go completely. Maybe one day. I'll add this to my list of maybes, along with Anti-Gravity yoga.
So instead I ended up taking a few more regular lotus classes and here are quick reviews:
Lotus Flow 1
Teacher - Chachi Cruz
This class did not start with chanting like Elaine's class. But, like every other class I've taken at Lotus it did start with three loud "oms" at different pitches which I personally don't care for that much. It was a nice basic class that did not get too complicated. I could do 95% of the postures. Another vinyasa flow class. Lots of warrior poses with different variations. The teacher made a few adjustments on me which is always very helpful.
She talked about fear a lot, and that was good for me because fear often times snakes it ways into my life. At different times and in different forms, regarding different situations.
Ratio was about 10:2
Lotus Hour w/Francesca (monday)
Francesca had some good things to say about letting the internal dictate the external. So many times we let the external dictate the internal -- particularly for me at least - things outside my control can make me so frustrated. But this idea if we take care of ourselves (the internal) the external will be OK. Or at the least, easier to deal with.
Anyway. Her class was pretty good. Vinyasa flow, with different postures. We did some more variations on Warrior and Triangle that I appreciated, an eagle-based warrior was kinda cool (eagle is when you twist yourself up like a big pretzel)
In this class I was definitely the most beginner and also the most sweaty. It is hot and humid and perhaps that made it more sweaty for me but I was certainly drippin.
Ratio was about 12:2
Lotus Hour w/Francesca (Wednesday)
My schedule dictated that I go back to Francesca's class on Wednesday. I was a bit resistant to head back to the Lotus a fourth time, but when I'm resistant like that to something its usually the best time to go.
It ended up being good to have a second class by the same teacher during my week, get more famliar with her and allow her to get more familiar with me.
Today she talked about embracing kindness and letting kindess in. About making space for kindness and love in your life. How giving up old things (like when you clean out your closet) you can make space for something new to come in, like a new sweater or hoodie. I dig all that. She talked about how from the darkest places come the best things -- which is similar to one of my favorite phrases -- "pain is the cornerstone of spiritual growth." Having been in a dark place recently and coming to a brighter one lately, I can relate to all of this and I appreciate her talking about it.
It was a much harder class than Monday's and I was by far the least advanced in the class. It was very humbling. There were many postures I could not do very well and she corrected me a lot, which I appreciate but made me a little self conscious. But there were a few moments when I was fully present in the asana and could really feel it. I'd like to attain more of those.
Ratio was 8:1.
This class was in the dance hall room:
And you can see how that demonstrates the vibe at Laughing Lotus. I found myself reading those words one at a few point, and they were nice and all but the whole place is a bit overwhelming with their colorful happy vibe.
You can't see it from this picture, but in that first alcove before the people in the front of the room there is a something very special and very unique. Yes, friends, this room houses the world's only glitter bar. I didn't have time to partake but it is there and it is real and people might even use it. And while I got some good yoga in at Laughing Lotus, I am happy that my week is up and ready to try another place.
It's a great studio and they seem to have a very strong community. The classes are good and strenuous and all seem to be vinyasa flow. The Lotus Hour class can be a bit challenging for a beginner and that can be a bit uncomfortable but the teacher always helped me and never made me feel bad.
As a male I felt slightly uncomfortable at this place, since there were so few of us and it was so full of such strong women. Now maybe thats just me or maybe this is the case at all yoga studios but so far this one was the most overwhelming.
That being said, I can embrace that and respect that and enjoy it - you just won't see me here every day. However I do want to try their friday night 10pm - midnight class. And maybe one day that silly breakti class.
My final thought on Laughing Lotus is this:
Sometimes it was good for me to just laugh at myself and not take the postures or the place so seriously. I can't do the posture or I'm doing it wrong. It's ok. Or I feel uncomfortable. No one cares. I shouldnt either. I'm better at yoga than I was two weeks ago. I feel better and I'm having all sorts of new experiences. I don't have to do everything right all the time.
I'm looking forward to my special field trip this weekend. I just confirmed a 3 day pass at reebok sports club - I'm going to get some well needed gym time in at one of the nicest
gyms in the city - maybe the country. I will do a full review and also hit a group yoga class or two. Always need balance and right now I need to hit the gym
Here's the link. You can get in on it too!
free trial - reebok sports club
This is AWESOME! Thanks for taking the time to write it all down.
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