Om

Alright, don't get me wrong.... I love yoga and all but I CANNOT take "om"-ing. The spiritual connection is part of it, as is the meditation, the inner sense of self, and the "just be" stuff. I actually do buy into it and I do feel it - I meditate in the beginning and closing parts of yoga - I picture myself on top of a mountain that overlooks a beach and the ocean at sunrise, and I just sort of pretend I'm there and think about nothing but the peace of it. I am not opposed to trying some of the methodology to see if it works, and I do believe that parts of it do work for my own relaxation.

However, last night I tried out a class of Jivamukti at a studio in my new town and I was beside myself. The lecture about the yogi's natural inclination to vegetarianism and loving animals WHILE we were holding a head stand (for 5 minutes, mind you) was just too much for me. At a certain point, when the attempt at creating peace and relaxation for someone does the exact opposite, I think it has gone too far.

As a side note, not only did I go to Kroger immediately after class to pick up some fresh cut meat, but I'd also be willing to bet that I was the strongest person in that class. I'd like to thank all of the animals I've eaten for that.

I am used a very mainstream kind of power flow yoga (taught by a wonderful woman in Atlanta named Karen) with a touch of getting into the spiritual part/meditation. I am NOT used to a mini-sermon about the connection to the divine throughout the yoga class. I am sure that works for some people, but I was so uncomfortable. Secondly, the yoga positions were called out in their real names. We didn't go through "warrior 1," "warrior 2," "triangle pose," we went through "utthita trikonosana," etc. Yes, I had to look that up. I was two steps behind everyone because I didn't know what the heck I was supposed to do next whether or not I was capable of doing it.

In my opinion, there is a huge group of people who could be brought into the benefits and health of yoga if it wasn't always so granola. I certainly am one of them. Do I want to go back to that class? Yes and no. I loved it because I love yoga, but I don't want to go because I was uncomfortable. My husband FOR SURE would never make it through that class because we'd be kicked out the second he started laughing at the singing/om-ing with the accordion at the beginning of class. However, my husband DESPERATELY needs to improve his flexibility and stability, and I think yoga could be a solution for him... which brings me back to my point that there needs to be some type of middle-ground.

Are there classes out there for people who are not beginners, have probably intermediate-to-advanced level strength and flexibility, and who just don't want to sit there and listen to the mini-sermon about the divine while singing the "Jivamukti song" (as I'm calling it since I have no idea what was going on right then)?