Today I woke up in time to make the 10am yoga class at Bend and Bloom Yoga. Having never taken this class before, I was not sure what to expect, nor did I even know who the teacher was. Thankfully, I have moved beyond the potential anxiety that these unknowns can cause me. My excitement for my day's practice only increased when I saw the teacher walk in with her harmonium — I love the harmonium, or any live music during yoga class, for that matter. In addition, the teacher had the longest, thickest blond dreadlocks that I have ever seen; which only added to the intrigue of the class. She started the class with about 30 minutes of chanting. A few years ago, this would have sort of made me a little uncomfortable, striking me as a little too pseudo-spiritually-yoga-y. But I am now in a place where the sound of the harmonium was so haunting and deeply connecting for me, that I actually cried. Which mean I guess I am finally understanding the whole point of yoga.
Beyond the harmonium and the great hair, the teacher was amazing, although very unlike any other teacher that I have had. Perhaps because at one point during class, she suggested that we clench the walls of our vaginas, and hold it for the rest of the day...or something along those lines. And the one guy in class was instructed to clench "that spot between your anus and your genitals."
So I came home and looked her up online, only because I wanted to take another class with her in the future, and found that she trained under the Conquering Lion Vinyasa style of yoga (whose mantra is "Yoga is the process of stopping the mind from turning things the wrong way around,") which I had never heard of, but which somehow then all made sense given the seriousness of her dreadlocks, which I equated somehow, with the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah and all. Perhaps it is all a little too weird sounding, like some sort of reggae meets yoga mix-up, but all in all, made for an beautiful way to start a very lovely Sunday morning.
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