Let me be honest. I'm not spiritual. I've never been to India. I don't even want to go. My friend tried to teach me meditation once as a cure for my ulcer. I thought he was trying to brainwash me. My idea of a spiritual evening is a bag of salt and vinegar chips and a beer. My favorite bumper sticker? My karma ran over your dogma.
You get the idea.
So I was the last person on earth anyone suspected of trying yoga. I had to hide it from my friends like an alcoholic drinking at an AA meeting. Somehow I found myself signed up for this ancient practice. Was I after enlightenment, peace, stillness, inner joy? Hardly. I was thinking more of a body like Courtney Love's; all attributed, according to her, to yoga. She doesn't exactly strike me as a spiritual girl either.
I was also looking for strength, flexibility and relaxation. All things that yoga promises and actually delivers. Those Indian monks have gotten these poses right. They work. Six thousand years of practice have really paid off. Yoga also delivers an attention to detail that frees your mind and focuses it on the task at hand, much like meditation, I suppose. I haven't yet thought I was being brainwashed, but then again I am sounding rather spiritual all of a sudden.
A few things to keep in mind before you go:
You can always spot the beginners - socks. Personally, I don't think human feet are made to be without socks, or shoes for that matter. It's not natural. But in yoga, your feet live free or die. Also, don't wear a baggy T-shirt. During poses like Down Dog (don't even get me started on those cute names!) your faces gets tangled up and you can't breathe. Or maybe that's just the pack a day I smoke.
A few things you have to get used to:
Yoga studios have a smell. Remember the no socks policy? That's all I have to say. And would it kill everyone's enlightenment to just throw a little Lysol on those mats? You get intimate with those rentals and I, for one, would be a whole lot more peaceful if I knew mine had been zapped with a little anti-bacterial nirvana before I put my sweaty face against it.
Every class ends with a bow. The teacher bows to you, you bow to the teacher. I think it's supposed to teach humility (not something the hot-blooded American in me is a big fan of), but I suppose mutual respect is a good thing as long as we're both consenting adults.
There are different types of yoga (Ashtanga, Bikram and Iyengar) for different types of people. Yoga can be adapted to be as physically challenging or mild as you want it to be. Try an introductory class first to see if you like it.
San Francisco is where it's at for the practice of Yoga. Here's a few studios. (Pick one in your neighborhood!)
Yoga Shala (Noe Valley)
Pretzel's School of Yoga (Potrero Hill)
Integral Yoga Institute (Mission) (link to )
The Mindful Body (Pacific Heights)
Iyengar Yoga Institute of San Francisco (Sunset)
by Amanda McPherson
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