A scenic yoga tour
I seemto be a permanent yoga newbie. I hate sitting cross- legged, and that always gets in theway despite my yoga- fan friends’ insistence that it doesn’t matter. So I reluctantly agreed to try another yoga class. Yoga scape, held in a room heated to about 94 degrees, lets participants escape to the water, the desert and elsewhere with sound and videos on all four walls.
Yoga scape, created by Steven Metz, owner of Earth’s Power Yoga, is unexpectedly downto earth and a satisfying “immersive experience” that left me tired and myskin feeling great. And I hardly had to cross my legs at all. Be prepared to seriously sweat.
Earth’s Power Yoga, 7901 Melrose Ave., No. 208, www.earthspoweryoga.com Aura
The room is hot and the lights are low; thewalls are a changing series of scenes, some fairly abstract, some real. Ahuge moon covers much of awall at one point; at another, there’s a fire- red sky, then a huge lake, mountains, stars. Metz talks through the class, explaining the moves.
Metz is an extreme sportsman and said he got the idea for yoga scape while watching sunlight play on the ocean currents while scuba diving in Mexico. We are shaped by and adapt to our environments, he said. For his students, “Iwant them to get to a fully blissed- out yogic immersion experience.” Effort
At first, the class seems fairly tame, but by the end of the hour Iwas like an overcooked noodle. Metz’s style is vigorous, with almost constant movement. Itwas rare, until the brief meditation at the end, that a pos ewas held still. Most of the work could be done by a reasonably fit yoga beginner; just one pose was completely beyond me. (“After two years naked in a cave, you’ll get this,” he joked.) Iwas happy I had an experienced yogi next to me, so I could look to her to get things right. Style
Metz is funny and doesn’t take himself or the work too seriously. He gives many pointers on modifying poses, supporting the back, etc., only rarely in yoga- speak. Cost
Single classes are $ 20; various packages also available.