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Yoga 'Round Town

Centerstage's choose-your-own-adventure guide to yoga.

Monday Jan 02, 2006.     By Jessica Herman

Fitness Feed

While we can hardly label yoga as a new fitness or lifestyle trend, many of us remain relatively clueless when it comes to knowing which classes and studios are best suited to our individual taste, needs and ability. Whether you're a yoga virgin or have been around the block and back, this roster of classes at local studios includes something for everyone. If you're not ready to commit, don't worry about owning a mat; the studios typically provide mats for free or rent them for $1.

Try it hot at Bikram Yoga Chicago
For those who haven't experienced Bikram, or hot yoga, you might find it strange to hear an instructor say something like, "If you're feel like you're choking, you're doing it right." But don't knock this one until you've tried it. Traditionally practiced in a room that's heated to 105 degrees at 40 percent humidity, Bikram will have you sweating before the class has even begun. However, unlike stepping into an almost suffocating steam room, the heat falls softly, and the large open studio allows for plenty of breathing room. Despite the amount of sweat dripping from every body in the room, the room amazingly doesn't reek of body odor.

Though it doesn't feel rigorously exhausting like a spin or step class, the 90-minute workout gets your heart pumping with rapid transitions between challenging poses. The instructor leaves little room for discomfort by continuously talking the students through every movement, explaining the physical sensations to expect in your body and which muscles the positions target. After all the sweating and exhaling, you'll leave feeling as though you've rid your body of a year's worth of toxins.

Words of advice: Go as scantily clad as you can while still feeling comfortable. Consider wearing contacts instead of glasses if you need either; should you slip into a heavy exhale, you can expect some seriously foggy vision. Lastly, the hotter and sweatier you become during class, the colder you'll feel when it's over. So be sure to bring a warm coat or sweatshirt in which to bundle afterwards.

Nervous newbies should try Exhale Spa
Most yoga studios offer classes targeting yoga newcomers, and any good instructor will offer alternative positions during class for those who don't feel ready to attempt particularly challenging or awkward poses. But Exhale's approach of pampering both the mind and body makes it an ideal locale for nervous newbies.

The booming wooden doors at the studio entrance and the gong at the front of the room (which the instructor sounds at the end of a session) introduce the tone of the class at this combination spa/studio. The instructor emphasizes harmonizing your breathing with your movement and walks around throughout the class to push your stretch a touch further or readjust your positioning. You'll also find props like yoga blocks to help ease your body into a pose if your flexibility isn't it quite up to speed. If you're lucky, the resident acupuncturist drops in during the last five minutes of class to offer those inclined the chance to experience one needle's worth of acupuncture and tuning forks.

Words of advice: Be sure to bring a change of clothes so that you can take advantage of the luxurious changing room. Not only will you find plush towels, you're also welcome to slip into a full-length robe and sandals after stepping into Exhale's steam room. The tile showers feature high-arching showerheads that stream like waterfalls and complimentary accoutrements of Exhale's signature green tea and seaweed hair care and body products.

Stretch and socialize at Bloom Yoga Studio
Over the course of the past year on every first Friday of the month, Bloom Yoga's co-owner Kerry Maiorca has offered an alternative to the smoky bar: midnight yoga with live musicians. Open to all levels, it's a gentle class chock full of plenty of warm-up activities before progressing into active standing positions. The crowd of mostly twenty- and thirtysomethings settle into a candle-lit studio for an hour and half session. The musicians, who vary monthly and play anything from guitar to Tibetan singing bowls and percussive African instruments, improvise in accordance with the mood and movement of the class. At the end of the evening, when the class slowly winds down, everyone is invited to a post-session reception with food and wine.

Words of advice: Reserve a spot before the day of the event and arrive early (Maiorca recommends arriving around 10 p.m.) to get settled in.

Do it your way at YogaNow
Mysore, a traditional method of Ashtanga yoga, emphasizes the memorization of poses; rather than training the body mechanically, the movements become meditative. By practicing repetitively, at the same time every day if possible, both body and mind learn the poses. In turn YogaNow's Mysore class involves little instruction. Students essentially proceed at their own pace through Ashtanga poses until they can no longer remember the next pose.

Director/instructor Amy Beth Treciokas moves around the room throughout the class, reminding or teach students the positions and helping them properly adjust their bodies. Because the class leaves plenty of room for independence, you'll generally find more experienced yogis in the class who know some of the positions even if they don't know the pattern of movement to follow. However, Treciokas insists that the class is a great way for beginners to learn yoga since the students go at their own pace, moving in accordance with their breath.

Words of advice: Patience is key.

Step up the the challenge at Moksha Yoga
Contrary to what you might expect, the challenge of Steve Emmerman's Forrest Yoga class isn't measured by fancy poses and hour-long headstands. Instead the challenge is holding a difficult pose like a lunge for five minutes without having the distraction of an instructor talking you through it. Forcing you to work on your own, focusing on your breathing, your strength and endurance. It becomes as much of an emotional and mental challenge as it is a physical one.

Despite the class's level of difficulty, any hearty individual can give the class a go. Best of all, Emmerman says that Forrest is particularly apt for the Westerner's lifestyle by helping to reduce the tension in the neck and shoulders and open up the hips. That's right; get up from your computer and take your body for a test drive.

Words of advice: Bring an open mind. You may find yourself roaring like a lion doing the Lion's Breath with the class. It's not uncommon for people to either cry or yell during a session.