Yay4Yoga: Yoga in Budapest

Ashtanga Yoga @ Yogasanas

Street entrance. Budapest is a tough town.

11.00 - Vinyasa/Ashtanga Yoga with Tom

A puppyyyyyyy!
The first time I did a pose EVER!
I fell asleep in Savasana!

SO MUCH TO WRITE ABOUT!

I couldn't have picked a better yoga class to go to on a day like today! In addition to yoga; coffee, food, sleep and dogs are amongst my other most favourite things EVER! SO, after a coffee and run that morning, I made my way to the yoga studio that seemed to be the most convenient time/location-wise. When I finally figured out how to get into the building, once again, it was a buzz yourself up type of gig. I made my way up the stairs and found the lovely entrance to what looked like someone's apartment. Lo and behold, it was! This guy had converted his home into a yoga studio. DREAM!

So, I walked through the door, only to be greeted by two beautiful, big, blue eyes.
"A Weimeraner!" I said, barely able to contain my excitement. "Yes", the guy behind the Reception desk said. "Her name is Gerda and she's 4 months old."
"OMG, I LOVE Weimeraners" I blurted out.

Gorgeous balcony leading to his front door.

I launched into a spiel about my love of dogs and how I like them better than humans and how I always planned to get a Weimeraner but was now considering a Hungarian Vizsla because I'd seen so many etc etc. Anyway, the teacher's name was Tom Hoppel and he has a very interesting history according to his biography. He’s from the States originally, so I was lucky to have an English speaking class yet again! I also proceeded to tell him a bit about my trip and that I was heading south to Croatia to do a Yoga retreat and he instantly said, “Oh, in Hvar? With the lovely Evening?” and I’m all like “Yes!” So, turns out the yoga community is quite small in Europe, as it appears to be everywhere else in the world! Evening is also an American and Tom said he has been down to her retreat for various workshops etc. Crazy amazing!

Hi Gerda!

So, as I said, the studio was his home which I thought was cool. He had a lovely big airy room with high ceilings, once again, and floorboards. Tom and I proceeded to play with Gerda for a bit (see pics) whilst waiting for the other students...turned out, there was only one other student! A local girl who was in the middle of her teacher training. This class was just incredible and ended up resparking my interest in Ashtanga Yoga and well, yoga all over again. I've had a bit of a lapse in er judgement, down time, homesickness, my third mid-life crisis, depression, whatever you want to call it, so I needed this yoga class more than anything. It is amazing how the simplicity of yoga can help you see through the haze and instill clarity in your life, despite all the chaos going on around you.

Ardha Matsyendrasana 3.

This class felt like I was getting a private lesson with the way Tom really explained poses in detail in relation to my body and how I was attempting stuff. Man, Ashtanga really tests your strength and I realised just how weak I was! Not only because I've been travelling, so haven't been to the gym much or had a regular routine, but also how I am naturally flexible no worries, but when it comes to strength, I got nothing! ANyway, it was an amazing class with the set Ashtanga Primary series including a couple of poses that I've litereally NEVER done before in my LIFE! I think it was Matsyendrasana 3 or maybe D or, well, like the hardest one? I have a picture of B.K.S Iyengar in it anyway. In addition to its difficulty, it was also possibly the most nourishing pose I’ve ever done. I really felt all of my internal organs being massaged and toxins released and all that jazz. Particularly because I’d had a few Hungarian beers the night before! Anyway, amazing man and amazing teacher. I am definitely going to explore the Ashtanga world when I get home. I felt so strong after this class!

Scene of the crime.

Another one of my great loves, as previously mentioned, is sleep. Ah sleep. That elusive, precious few hours that I've been constantly deprived of over the past 7 weeks. I felt so relaxed in Savasana (Corpse Pose) at the end of this rather intense 90 minute session and I was just so tired that I actually fell asleep. I'm not talking just a light sleep where you are semi-aware of the noises going on around you and you know it's really just a moment of relaxation before you continue your day. I'm talking like a full on, arms sprawled, drool running down the corners of your mouth, slow, loud breathing SLEEP! I remember learning at Yoga Camp that the aim of Savasana isn't to sleep, but to relax, restore and renew. We should be in that state of total relaxation whilst still remaining conscious. Amongst the stuff I've read and learnt, there are apparently a couple of trains of thought about Savasana from the teacher's perspective. It could be the ultimate compliment to fall asleep indicating that the yoga practise was incredibly soothing and relaxing so as to induce a deep sleep. On the other hand, it could be the ultimate insult because it means you aren't fully relaxed and are just, well, lazy.

Well, in today's Savasana, I very clearly remember almost going to the point of no return when you feel that massive wave of relaxation that washes over you right before you sort of go into a deep meditation and then, bam, sleep, no memory. After what I thought was about 5 minutes, you know, the normal, socially acceptable Savasana time, I then heard a few voices, one of them being Tom's, from a bit of a distance. As I became more aware of the noises around me, I thought Tom and the other student were just chatting in the room. Turns out Tom was actually chatting to the other lady in the Reception areadown the hall and he about halfway through his cup of tea. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! Even Gerda, the Weimeraner, was already curled up under the Reception desk completely disinterested in this stranger sleeping on the floor of her house! I quickly snapped awake, wiped the drool that had dried on my cheek off my face and the subsequent pool of drool on my yoga mat and hurriedly packed up. I walked out the front and apologised profusely. It was now 1.00pm; class finished at 12.30! I SLEPT FOR HALF AN HOUR! OMG! How embarrassing?! I was mortified! I then quickly packed up, walked out to the Reception area, very embarrassed and red-faced and thanked him for a lovely class. As I left, I really did feel like I was floating. Another factor of why yoga is so addictive. Today was definitely a turning point, for the better. Little did I know things needed to get a whole lot worse in order to get better...