Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Yoga Vida is Spanish for Yoga Life

Ironically, the title is poking fun at one of my close friends who misquoted Anchorman by saying, "El niƱo is spanish for THE BOY" but the Yoga instructor at Yoga Vida grew up in Spain so my title kind of relates (it's a stretch).
Anyway, I have a cold.  It's the first real cold I've had since moving to NYC (August 2010).  I've had sniffles and coughs, but nothing that's lasted more than a day.  I'm a huge baby when I'm sick, but I also will not call out sick for work unless I either have a fever, I'm throwing up or the doctor has told me I cannot go to work (i.e. strep). And if I'm going to work, I'm pretty much continuing my normal life, with a few moans and groans and extra whining thrown in.
I have not been sick since I started exercising, so I have really not had a reason that would force me to not exercise.  This week is a big test for me to see if I can get back on track with my goals when I feel better.  OR! I could exercise this week and just tone it down a notch.
On Sunday night, I was trying to figure out what to do on Monday evening.  I really wanted to do Hot Yoga because I have been feeling very stressed and I find that a nice sweaty yoga class de-stresses me very well.  I decided that if I'm sick, it's kind of gross to do Hot Yoga because the heat makes my nose run.  Maybe I could do some light running?  Except my chest is on fire normally, and actually running on Friday really burned (but I chalked it up to pushing myself), so that's probably a bad idea too.
Why not try non-heated Yoga?  This way, I still can de-stress and do some movement, but its not too strenuous.
I went onto GoRecess.com to try to find a Yoga class on the cheaper side.  I found Yoga Vida which is located on University Place and 12th street (There is another SoHo studio).  Yoga Vida is $12 for a drop in, which is AMAZING, but better yet: its $10 for your very first week with one free mat rental.
Yoga Vida offers Flow classes, Advanced classes and Beginner classes.  The Advanced and Beginner classes are capped at 21 people to allow for more individual attention.  The Flow class was very very crowded. I wish I'd counted how many people there were.
The studio itself was nice - nice floors, nice windows... it felt open and spacious and very calming.  I didn't go to the locker room, but I did notice a long line for a 1-person women's bathroom, which sucks, so thats a downside to the place.
The instructor - Hilaria, was overall really good.  She had a great personality.  I guess she regularly solicits suggestions from the class about what to focus on, which I've never really observed anywhere else.  This class chose the Core and Quads and she designed a class to focus on those areas.
Most of the class was similar to what I've done in other yoga classes - lots of flows, warrior 1 to warrior 2, etc etc.  She did incorporate extra planks in there or holding poses that required core strength for longer.  She also pointed out when we were supposed to be engaging our core or our quads and what it should feel like. She went around and corrected people, although she never corrected me, so maybe I was doing everything okay?  Or maybe there were so many people she couldn't always get to me.
After the typical yoga series, she did a whole core workout.  We did sit ups, bicycle crunches, lifted our legs, alternated lifting legs, did planks, did planks while lifting one leg at a time, did planks by twisting side to side etc etc.  Huge core workout.  It was great.  I was able to do most of it despite being sick (and having done 100+ crunches before class started) but it was definitely not easy!
Oh and personal accomplishment: I was able to get into Wheel pose and maintain it!

Pros:
1) Hilaria had a fanstastic, light, funny personality that made me really enjoy the class.
2) The ab workout was great (which btw, Hilaria did with us the entire time)
3) I enjoyed having an alternative when I was sick that was less intense but provided me an outlet
oh and 4) It was dirt cheap.  If I don't take another class this week, it was still worth it. However, I might to make it more worth it,

Cons:
1) I didn't feel as de-stressed as I do when I go to Hot Yoga
2) The class was very full and at one point, the girl in front of me almost kicked me in the face
3) We didn't do the balance poses, which are my favorite part of any Yoga class

I would definitely do this class again when I need something simple and relaxing without being too strenuous or tough on my body.  I enjoyed it and I was proud of myself for getting out and doing something while sick.
I don't know if it will help me get better faster - I thankfully don't get sick often enough to have anything to compare it to.  I do feel like I have to go to work and not hide in bed because if I can do yoga, I can resume my life as normal.  However, today I decided to sit on the couch with some yummy homemade soup (Thanks Cameron!) and watch the Biggest Loser Season Finale.  Hey, I take nights off when I'm not sick too!

Do you exercise when you are sick? What makes you feel better when you feel sick?


1 comment:

  1. The language Spanish is too difficult to learn.There is a Spanish Language school named as Spanish Courses Costa Rica .

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