Day 21 ! Ashtanga Yoga

There are some things you should always tell people and some things you just shouldn't. If someone has spinach/ poppy seed/ popcorn  stuck in their teeth, tell them. If a girl has her skirt tucked into her pants, definitely tell her - she will thank you for saving her from further embarrassment. If someone has a giant beaming spot on their face, don't tell them - it's likely they already looked in the mirror that morning and saw (/cursed) it.

So my gift to you, in order to save you potential embarrassment, is letting you know that this is not a beginner's Ashtanga yoga class. It may say level 1-2 (which I interpreted as level 1 being beginner so 1-2 being suitable for beginners. Obviously.), but if you are a beginner, would probably try another place for Ashtanga to start (or maybe another teacher). I was at the triyoga Soho studio (the two-week pass is over now so I’ll ease up on yoga reviews for a wee while) that I reviewed on Day12 ! Vinyasa Yoga. Actually I tried another Vinyasa Yoga class with the sportswatch working so stats have been added to the review if you’re interested!

Ashtanga Yoga – I’d read this was the most dynamic, challenging form of yoga so had deliberately left this till after I’d had some yoga practise with the other classes (for all the good it did me). The main difference between this class’ students and the other yoga classes I’ve tried so far is male: female ratio – today, it was about 1:5 which is more than any of the others so far.

The class started somewhat abruptly, no gentle hello, welcome, my name is… from the instructor. She arrived, went to the front and started calling out moves. Which, if it were an aerobics class would be fine, we all know what star jumps are, marching on the spot, side steps etc. But when the moves are names of yoga moves (padangustasana, utthita trikonasana, parvottanasana – I clearly looked these up post-class), it’s a bit trickier to follow. The rest of the class seemed fine so thankfully I could just follow the lady in front but if you go to a beginner’s class, you kind of expect a bit more instruction.

Instructor Sarai clearly knew her stuff but I got the impression that she wasn’t really engaging with the class. She gave instructions but very little teaching. Reading her bio, she is only one of a few teachers to have a certain degree, which is very impressive I have no doubt, but sadly, in my view does not translate into being a motivating teacher to beginners. And she rushed off faster than Road Runner being chased by Coyote so I was left to ask a fellow student to take a picture of me by myself. I can imagine though, that the class would be great for more advanced students who know the postures, don’t need instruction and even prefer the teacher not needing to explain every move to the class.

I’d like to try another beginner’s Ashtanga yoga class somewhere – the moves themselves were decent and I could imagine it being a satisfying, testing class (eventually). Perhaps, I had misunderstood the level classifications. Perhaps I missed the memo that we should already be familiar with the yoga postures and end-of-class chant before attending the class. But either way, I just didn’t find it fun always looking around to see what we were supposed to be doing and playing catch-up. It was a bit like playing piggy-in-the-middle and being the pig. No-one likes being the pig.

The Need To Know:

- Where: TriYoga Soho

- Nearest Station: Oxford Circus (6mins)

- When: Various types of yoga / pilates all day every day

- How Much: Intro offer of 2 weeks for £20, else drop-in starts at £14/hr or class packages 

- Special Note: Same note re. booking system as previous TriYoga review. This studio is smaller than its Chelsea sister with a more rusticy, creaky floorboards atmosphere.

  

The Want to Know:

- Who’s it For: For those who are already familiar with yoga postures

- Sweat Scale: 6/10. Bumped up by always rushing moves to keep up but bumped down by not being able to complete each posture properly.

- Strength / Cardio / Flexi / Tone: Strength if done properly

- Complexity: 8/10 if you don’t know postures, 6 if you do

- Fun Factor: 5/10

- Changing Facilities: 2 open showers, 2 toilets, no lockers in this studio

- Instructor Inspiration: 4/10.

The Stats:

- Total Time: 63mins

- Calories Burnt: 127

- Average Heart Rate: 89
- Max Heart Rate: 119 

Lonely...so lonely...