Jivamukti Yoga in NYC

@ Jivamukti Yoga

9.10am - Open Yoga with Dechen

To start with, I just want to say that I'm falling more in love with New York everyday and this next ditty is what I love about it.  I was walking to my yoga class, iPod in, not making eye contact, repeating my latest mantra "stay to the right, stay to the right, don't make eye contact, don't make eye contact. walk really fast, walk really fast", you know, a typical New York mantra really and I suddenly look up as I'm about to J-walk at a set of lights and there it is, right smack bang in front of me, the friggin Empire State Building! Instantly, I morph back into a tourist and start taking photos with a huge smile on my face. So much for the facade. Everywhere you look at this place is just a photo op. On to the yoga part...

This class couldn't be more contrasting to Laughing Lotus with Dana Flynn if I tried. I was still recovering from the workout my body endured with Dana's class, so I knew that this style of yoga would be a little more restorative and relaxing. Little did I know that I'd be doing headstands...AGAIN! I've done a headstand almost every single day since being in New York. How bizarre? Oh that even includes a headstand on the rooftop of our hotel where I made my very patient friend Sammie, take a million photos of me with the city lights in the background. It totally didn't work. Also, I was doing it right near the balcony on the edge and as time went on, I was just getting more unstable, so that was probably just stupid in itself.  We'd also just had Taco Bell for dinner. It was crap and sooooo not conducive for creating optimal headstand equilibrium. Moving on...

I found Jivamukti, just past the Flatiron building and it was a very intimidating facade. it was also located right next to Max Brenners (the chocolatier company) which was so not cool! I made it up to the floor and the lift doors opened to a very impressive albeit intimidating reception area.  The staff, who were all dressed in black, were also intimidating.  It was weird, because I could have sworn that this style of yoga was the one where they all wear white. Am I right? I think so. Anyway, let's just say I was scared.

After the teacher, Dechen I think his name was, magically morphed as if from nowhere, in his earthy green t-shirt and stereotypical flowy white pants that are indicative of this style of yoga.  The class began with a really interesting series of 5 stretches that the teacher, , said were based on a Japanese form of something or other. Anyway, we had to do these 5 stretches and then repeat them at the end to feel the difference in our bodies.  We then got to choose which pose out of the 5 was the most diffiicult and then we did that. It was quite effective. Especially seeing as we were then doing stuff on our own.  Then suddenly off we went into a Vinyasa sequence that was timed to the music! I've never experienced this before. Is that normal for Jivamukti? Like he had some Kirtan music playing and he would speak with the beats of the music all like, "in-hale to Adho Mukha Svanasan, ex-hale to Chat-u-ranga Dandasan, inhale to upward dog, exhale to blah blah". I felt like I was doing some sort of yoga choreography. Weird and fun at the same time. On another side note, he dropped the "a" at the end of each Sanskrit name, just like Tam in Brisbane.

Sequence:
By far my favourite sequence almost to date actually, big call I know, was a mini-Vinyasa flow thing that we repeated quite a bit.

• Ardho Mukha Svanasana (Downward dog)
• Chaturanga Dandasana (Four limbed rod pose)
• Bend elbows - knees, chin, chest and scoop body through to...
• Bhujangasana (Cobra)
• push back to Balasana (Child,s pose)
• Sasangasana (Rabbit Pose)
• THEN - keep hands on feet and curl over to...
• Ustrasana (Camel)

The last two dot points were definitely the most interesting and challenging:  After doing this sequence several times, Dechen came over to me. From the beginning actually, he was constantly walking around and adjusting. Oh he also was mostly a verbal teacher! Every single one I've had here in New York has been! Crazy. Anyway, it was my turn to be adjusted/corrected and as I came into Camel, which is one of my favourite poses, mainly because I have a flexible back and also, because I had a strange obsession with Camels when I was in Year 3 and used to want to have a pet one so I sorta have a soft spot for them. Oh, unless they do this (see picture). Then, not so much...

Wow, now THAT was a tangent. Granted, I am a very tired tourist and my brain is a little fried.  Been up and about for about 14 hours today.  Yoga class, walking, shopping in Soho all day, walking, shopping in the ghetto where I bought some awesome gangsta hoop earrings with the word "boss" emlblazoned across them, then a hip hop class at the Broadway Dance Centre to justify my purchase and also because it's been something on my bucket list, more shopping and walking, then Skype sesh with the parents for an hour and a half, then blog. Phew! Give me a little leeway to talk about camels okay?!

So, yes, he came to adjust me during camel and in his same sort of monotone, soothing, yogi voice that he'd been using from the beginning, he said, referencing my grey and green spotted top, "it's been scientifically proven that people who wear polka dots have immediate improvement in their back bends". People immediately looked over to him, confused. He then looked at me and said, "See? proof!" Then people giggled and everyone was at ease. THAT is why I like to make people laugh. As soon as there is laughter, tension is removed, people are relaxed and there is an immediate rapport built student to student; teacher to student. I am a HUGE advocate for laughter. So yes, after that, I liked this guy. I thought he was a little left of field to begin with, but I think it was just his quirky sense of humour. Yay for quirky senses of humour!!!

At the end, after a bunch of headstands, handstands, shoulderstands and any other sort of stands i.e: inversions, we did two types of Pranayama; Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathingt) and Samavritti (equal breathing; inhaling and exhaling for 5 equal counts.  When we finished that, we were ready to go into Meditation, but not before another surpise that I just didnt see coming as he whipped out his iPhone and started telling us about the Meditation App he had just downloaded and how it makes it far easier to count etc . Hilarious§.  We then went into 5 minutes of Meditation and 5 minutes of relaxation in Savasana, or whatever position we most felt comfortable in. Overall, a very comprehensive class. He then disappeared as quickly as he appeared and I never had the chance to thank him. Bummer.

Quote: Don't try and do the pose, let the pose happen to you.

Coffee: The Bean, on Broadway just across the road. It wasn't great coffee, but it was a dog-friendly cafe so that totally made up for it! ALso, check out this sign below. They had Nutella flavoured coffee. What the...?

I didn't try this, but I was tempted...if not repulsed.