Yoga

I'm in India, birthplace of yoga. Why not try it, then?

Turns out it was a little trickier than I thought. Many groups meet in the mornings- either really early at 5AM or too close to when I have to start work. I couldn't find something from, say 6 to 7 in the morning. On top of that, the groups aren't really "classes." People who have been practicing for some time gather in a park for a synchronised session. I'm more on the beginning side of yoga, so I was looking for a teacher.

A bit of research revealed that most teachers here teach individually. While the personal attention is great, that also meant I wanted to choose my teacher carefully - no nut cases allowed! And some Americans who come to India expressly for yoga (not all, but some) are looking to "find" themselves, so their teacher recommendations might not be the type of teacher I need. I am more interested in a teacher who doesn't push philosophy too much.

Last weekend, I went to what was billed as a yoga class with a non-profit group Greg had had a meeting with. It turned out to be a 3 team-building find-your-motivation class with some breathing exercises built in. While culturally interesting, not quite what I was expecting, especially for three hours! Thankfully, though, one of the leaders (who were all yoga teachers) came up after and, recognizing that that was probably not why I had come, gave me her card.

I called her and had my first yoga lesson yesterday. I have to commit to four one-hour individual lessons (which cost a whoping 1200 Rs or $24), and a 20-min/day routine at home. She wrote out the home routine for me and said it will change as we move along. Given that I'm pregnant (which I told her), I told her it certainly would be changing!

After a month, we'll see what I think. For now, this teacher does seem to have the low-key stretching-focused practice I was looking for.