Yin Yoga

I am getting my money's worth at Yyoga. Today is my second time going to yoga using the 2 week 'pass'. I went to Yin yoga today.

I didn't know what the difference was with Yin yoga and the other forms of yoga. It was a 8pm class. It was in the small room. At Highgate Yyoga, there are two rooms that are used to practice yoga. It is called 'This' and 'That'. I know it's kinda weird names for the rooms. I asked the receptionist where the Yin yoga will be practiced. She said the smaller one. The smaller room only holds a max of 15 people. The larger room, where I took the hot yoga yesterday, holds about 30 people. There were only about 10 people in this class. I guess it isn't a popular class.

The teacher explained to us the main difference in the beginning of class. The difference is that in Yin yoga you hold the poses for a longer period of time. It focuses on stretching the thighs and the lower back muscles. The teacher said you won't feel it till the next day. I'm really looking forward to that ;/....It is yoga with almost all the poses sitting or laying down. Once or twice there was downward dog. That was the extent of standing poses. At the end of class we were laying down, it's like meditating laying down. Some people where so relaxed that they fell asleep. The person on my left and the person on my right fell asleep and both were snoring a little bit.

Overall, I didn't like it too much. When you hold a pose for a long period of time, your blood rushes in that direction. Then you do many poses, your blood rushes everywhere. Especially when I get motion sickness easily, I have to be careful on how long I hold the poses so I don't get sick.

Hot Yoga at Yyoga

I was getting my car fixed at my friends house by Highgate Mall. There is a Yyoga at Highgate Mall.

The Passport to Prana expired on July 31 and isn't valid again till Oct 1. Yyoga has a special promotion going on. It is $30 for unlimited two weeks. It is $15 for a 60 minute class. I thought even if I went twice in the two weeks, it would be ok. I can go to yoga for the next few weeks before my pass is valid again.

I have been a hot yoga at Yyoga before, that was months ago. I like being hot but hot yoga is almost at an uncomfortable hot temperature. I haven't been to yoga for a long time so my balance is a bit off and I am not as flexible.

I like yoga. It is very relaxing. There were 18 people in the class today. It was a 12-1pm class. Maybe people were probably on their lunch break.

Semperviva Yoga Sea - Granville Island

http://www.semperviva.com/locations.php

On Saturday morning I was ready to start my day with some yoga. I took the 11 am Power Yoga class. The Sea Studio on Granville Island is a bit hidden away. You have to walk thru a walkway from Emily Carr to get to the building which Semperviva is located. I had to walk up the short set of stairs to the yoga studio. I walked into a really small reception area. The prior class was just leaving the studio and the 11 am class was just entering. There was only one shelf and it was taken from the prior class. The 11 am class had to leave their shoes under the bench. There wasn't much room for everyone's shoes. Once I left my shoes under the bench, I walked into the studio. There were already mats laid out. I just picked a spot and put my mat on top of theirs. There was about 30 people that attended the class. There were two walls that had windows. It was a really warm day so they had to open the windows for some fresh air. Outside on False Creek there were lots of boats out and there was something going one with 'pirates'. They were making lots of noise. For me, yoga is about serenity and relaxation. The 'pirates' made it really difficult for me. The teacher had the music loud to try to drown out the 'pirates'. But then the music was too loud for me I couldn't hear the teacher. I depended on watching what others were doing.

I should learn that Power Yoga means it's more of an intermediate class. Some poses are more difficult for me. One pose that I can't do yet is the headstand. Maybe it's the weight one my head that I'm not used to yet?

I realized that I enjoy a yoga class which is quiet, serene, the smell of incense (or other nice scent) and quiet relaxing music. Semperviva did not provide that for me. It wasn't quiet enough for me. There was no incense (or nice scent). Of course it's not that important but it provides the whole yoga experience. The reception area was too small. There was too much traffic congestion between classes. The music was too loud. I would have wanted more relaxing music like nature sounds.

Yogapod

After a few months of not doing any yoga my body was feeling unhealthy. I had a day off today. I made it to the 12 - 1 pm class at Yogapod in North Vancouver. On the block with Yogapod, there is a pilates studio, 2 dance studio and a few health centers.

The reception area is very welcoming. The receptionist is very friendly. There is also yoga products for sale. Once you enter Yogapod, you can smell the a fresh scent in the air. It isn't incense. It is a very light flowery scent. It wasn't overpowering that it would give you a headache. It is a small studio. It is a one room studio. The room was very clean. It wasn't very decorated. Two of the four walls was floor to ceiling mirrors. It helped me with the yoga. Some poses I wasn't sure of and I just looked in the mirror to see what everyone else was doing. The teacher was good. She is probably in her mid twenties and very toned and fit. She started the class with a passage from one of her yoga teachers. It was basically the foundation of the Law of Attraction. She didn't have a mat but she instructed us on what to do. She walked around to make sure we were doing our poses correctly. There wasn't any music but the atmosphere was very relaxing. There were some poses in this class that I haven't done before. By the end of class, I was tired. My overall experience was great with this yoga studio. I would come here again.

Yogapod
101 - 260 West Esplanade Street 604-924-9642 www.yogapod.com

Training for Sun Run

I did the Sun Run route yesterday. I walked with my friend and her dogs. We walked a fairly slow pace. It took us 2 hr and 40 mins. It was sunny and clear when I met up with her. After about an hour or so, it started to drizzle. Then drizzle became more rain. So I was walking in the rain with no umbrella.

Day 30: training for sun run

I was thinking i could walk to work one day. So i tried to walk as far as i can. I went for my hour walk. I can do 7 km in an hour. I walked the route i drive to work. I walked about half way then walked back home. That was about 3.5 km each way.

This weekend i am hoping to try the Sun Run route and see how i do.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Day 29: Training for the Sun Run

Another walk / jog day for me. Today it was right after work today and before dinner. I walked most of it. I tried jogging when I can. My stomach and my legs weren't very nice to me. I walked / jogged around the school 7 times today. That's about 7 km! Almost there. It took me an hour to do the 7 km.

Day 28:: Training for Sun Run

I have been doing the walk / jog training around Windemere Secondary School. I finally drove around the school to calculate the distance around the block. It is about 1 km. That means I have to walk / jog around the block 10 times.

Yesterday (Sun, April 18) I did the walk / jog thing around the school four times. Today I am a bit tired from that training. I had to push myself to train some more today. I walked / jogged around the school 6 times today. That means 6 km! Sooo tired now...I am not looking forward to how my leg muscles will feel tomorrow!

Day 27: Training for Sun Run

Today i increases the time i ran on the treadmill. I did the jog and walk thing for 40 minutes. I also did a few curl ups and push ups while i was there.

I wasnt as tired and didnt feel as out of shape as when i did the training the first day.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Training for Sun Run

Today i went to the fitness centre. I did the jog and walk thing again. I did that for 35 mins. After that i had a bit of energy left so i did 5 mins on the ecliptical.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

training for Sun Run

This is actually the second time i trained. The first time i didnt blog about it. I decided to enter the Sun Run this year. The run is on May 9. I dont have much time left so i've decided to train while im Chicago. Lucky for me i've got a fitness room on the third floor of my hotel.

The first training session was a walk and jog combo. We walked for a minute then we jogged for a minute. We did that for 15 minutes. I was tired by the end of it. I was sore for the next few days.

Today is my second training session. I went to the fitness center. Its inside and convenient. I have never used the treadmill before. I decided that if im going to run i might as well practice running on the treadmill. I did the walk and jog combo. It was a preset on the machine. I walked for 3 min and jogged for 3 min. I did this combo for 35 mins. I was energized to start to my day.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Yyoga - Highgate

I got the free Yyoga pass from Lululemon. It is a special promotion from Yyoga and Lululemon. It is a free pass to go to any Yyoga locations during Feb 12 28, 2010. I thought it is a great idea because I get free yoga for 17 days. After I thought about it, it is a challenge to go with all the Olympic festivities.

Today is a day between going to Olympic festivities for me. I went to the Yyoga at Highgate (http://www.yyoga.ca/our-centers/highgate). I took the Yhot class at 8:30 pm. It was a hot yoga class. I have never been to a hot yoga class before. I have thought that I wasn't strong enough to go to a hot yoga class. After taking the class, I still don't think I am ready for the next one anytime soon. There was about 50 people in the class, which made it a bit hotter. I was just sitting down and I was starting to sweat. Doing the various yoga poses made it more difficult because it was so hot. It was hard for me to breathe with the hot air. My instructor was a young man. He doesn't look like a yoga teacher. He had a mohawk and tattoos. He looked more like a rocker than a yoga teacher. But he was good. He was patient. Because the class was so full, he didn't have a spot to teach. He walked around and made sure we did the poses correctly. There was so peaceful and relaxing music. The class has a full wall length mirror for you to see if you are doing your poses correctly. I was at the back of the class so the mirror wasn't helpful for me. By the end of the class, I was totally drenched in sweat and felt drained.

Day 23; The gym - elliptical

I didn't have any plans tonight. I aimed to go to the gym for an hour after work. I went to the Mount Pleasant Community Center. It is the new community center on Kingsway (where it splits with Main). The fitness center is very small. Because I went after work, it was filled with people who just finished work. I went there once before and there was a line up to use the cardio machines at 5:30pm. I made sure I was there early enough to avoid the line ups.

I spent 30 minutes on an elliptical machine. I have never used an elliptical machine before. It was exciting for me. It was a newer machine so it had so many buttons. After 15 mins I was already getting tired. I had to push myself to finish off the 30mins. After my workout, I was tired but I felt like a ball of energy.

The Mount Pleasant Community Center is a 5 min drive from my work. It is so convenient for me. Hopefully I can make going to the gym a more regular occurrence.

Day 22: 1st day -Thi Personal Trainer Lite

I downloaded Thi Personal Trainer Lite on my iphone. There are many workouts and options. Today I started on the Beginner Weight Loss #1. The workout incorporates cardio and weights. You do cardio for 5 minutes then weights for a few minutes then cardio for 2 mins then weights, etc etc. There are 27 steps to the whole workout. I went up to step 12 and got really tired. Yes, I am very out of shape. I will keep on working on it till I complete all 27 steps.

Hari Om Yoga

I ventured out all the way to Langley for yoga today. Hari Om Yoga is on 200th and 64th Ave. I made it to the 1pm Flow class. I walked in and saw their selection of Lululemon clothing before I saw the front desk. The front desk is on the left. I was directed to the door which lead me upstairs. Upstairs was the bathroom, changing rooms and the yoga studio. Because I got there when the class was going to start, I felt a bit rushed. I got their so late because I got lost. I am not in Langley very often. The yoga studio is behind a physiotherapy clinic so it is a bit challenging to find. I took off my shoes and socks and put them on the shoe shelf before I headed into the yoga studio.

The yoga studio is very beautiful. One wall was a floor to ceiling mirror. One wall had a very large window. The window looked out to some trees and rooftops. It was nice to look out to trees. I felt closer to nature.

I had an excellent experience at this yoga studio. This was the first male teacher I have worked with. He is a good teacher. Eventhough he didn't do all the poses with us, I understood his instructions. The main difference between this class and other classes I have been to is that this class had more strength poses. It was difficult for me. I don't think I am very strong. There was only 11 people in this class. I think this is a good size class. We aren't bumping into each other. Once we are done our class, downstairs by the check in desk is some complimentary decaf tea.

Yogacara

Today I finally made it to a 5:30pm yoga class at Yogacara in Kits.





The class is called 5 Tibetans. There are 5 moves that get your blood circulating and strengthening your muscles.Each move you can do up to 21 times. The first move you stand up straight with your arms out and spin around. I managed to do it 21 times. As you may know, I get motion sickness really easily. After the 5th spin, I was already getting dizzy. When I was done, I was feeling really sick. I pushed my limit and finished the 4 movements. I only did about 5 of each movements. My head was spinning. We ended like all the other yoga classes, 5 minutes of meditating.

My overall experience was ok. The atmosphere was really nice (as you can see in the video). The teacher was really nice and patient. There was only 3 of us in class. I would go there again for another class. I wouldn't take the 5 Tibetans class again.

Flow Wellness - Yyoga Downtown

I have some friends who also bought the Passport to Prana. Because one of them works in downtown, we decided to go to Flow in downtown. Flow Wellness Center is located at the corner of Smithe and Burrard. It is above the Salai Thai and Winking Judge Pub. We went to the 6pm Flow class.

The entrance is located on Burrard St. We had to walk up 3 flights of stairs to get to the studio. At the top of the stairs is the check in desk. On the immediate right is their yoga store where they sell yoga clothing and books. Past the check in desk is the Shoe Room. The Shoe Room is where you are supposed put your shoes. I have never seen a shoe room before. It is a room that is about 4 feet by 7 feet. One wall is floor to ceiling shelving for shoes. Tonight it was filled with shoes. A sign that it is busy here tonight. Past the yoga store is a cafe where you can refresh and rejuvenate. We didn't get a chance to try it out. We check in and put our shoes in the shoe room then head to the Earth room for our yoga lesson.

It was an ok overall experience. The room was so packed that the instructor didn't have her own space to do the instruction. We had to listen carefully to her instructions. I would estimate there was about 50-60 people in the room. I think there was too many people for my liking. She played some R&B music. It was good music, but I am used to more relaxing spa music. It was hard to hear her instructions over the music. I have been to yoga a few times and I am familiar with some of the poses. I feel bad for my friends. They haven't been to yoga in a long time and there is no instructor to watch. We had to depend on our neighbours to see if we were doing the poses correctly. The highlight of the class was the attempt to do a headstand. There was only 2 people in class who did the headstand and where doing various poses on their head.

Yyoga - Richmond

I'm on a roll! Today I visited Yyoga in Richmond. Yyoga seems to have the most selection of yoga classes. It offers classes thru out the day. Most of the other studios offer classes in the mornings or late in the afternoon close to 5pm. I went to a class at 2pm.

It is a beautiful place. As you walk in on the left is the shelf for shoes. On the right they sell yoga clothing. As you past the yoga clothing is the check in desk. The ladies there are very friendly. My hatha class was in the Sun room. After I checked in, I went towards the bathroom. The long corridor towards the bathroom is long and white. It made me feel as if I was in some sci-fi movie. When I got to the bathroom, it was pretty amazing. It is so large and clean. There are small lockers in there for you to lock up valuables. The sinks are like the ones in new houses. There are also a few shower stalls. There are also blow dryers. I really understand if the rate is a bit higher at this place. You really get what you pay for.

I really enjoyed my experience. My yoga teacher is really nice and attentive. I guess it helps that there were only 5 of us in class today. It was really easy to understand her when she explained how to do the poses. Her transitions were simple and smooth. The Sun room is a pretty large room. It had soft lighting. She played relaxing music. She didn't have it playing continuously and it was kinda disturbing that she stopped to change the music a few times. One side of the room is floor to ceiling mirrors. I felt the mirrors were really helpful. I could see how I was doing the poses versus how the teacher was doing the poses.

Kerrisdale Yoga

Today I finally got off my ass and went to a yoga studio! I was going to go to Radha Yoga and Eatery today. They had an open house. I was going to go in the afternoon to their seminars on chahkras and how to interpret your dreams. I was running late and I don't like being late for classes / seminars. So I decided to put my new iPhone to use and see if there were any classes available within the next hour. I found Kerrisdale Yoga. It is quite a distance away. It is located on W 46th Ave and West Blvd in Kerrisdale. There is a limit of 12 participants in the class. Today there was only 10 in the class. The yoga room is very small. It has yellow walls. Yellow isn't a very calming color for me. It felt claustrophobic. For some poses we were even bumping into each other. The teacher put on relaxing music for us.

Overall I didn't like my experience there too much. The teacher made us do the same poses over and over. The transitions from pose to pose was very awkward and not smooth. The atmosphere wasn't very relaxing for me. I went to Bonsor one time for a pilates class. It was very relaxing. She had the relaxing music. She lite some candles for some ambiance.

I would not come here again. Thank god for the Passport to Prana pass, I only have to go there once.