Heated Vinyasa Yoga at Equinox Chestnut Hill

• 0 • NYR 2017

This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.

Progress: 49 Classes Down, 1 remaining (Cardio Kick)

Heated yoga while the snow gently falls outside?

Yes, please.

Equinox added two new classes in December so far and they’ve both been yoga classes. Yessss. I like yoga. There are no jumping jacks in yoga. Maybe this means I avoid some of my weaknesses, but you know what, my chaturanga is getting better and I’m working plenty hard and I love the way it makes me feel and I can’t say the same of jumping jacks.

 

 

Class: Heated Vinyasa Yoga with Adam Caplan

Class length: 60 minutes

Description from the Equinox: A thoughtful, Vinyasa-based class in a heated room. A base temperature of 80 – 85 degrees will help release toxins, encourage a deep connection to breath and increase strength through flowing sequences. If you like to sweat, this class is for you.

What Class Was Like

They’re still experimenting with the heat settings for class, and the studio didn’t feel like it was that hot. It was definitely heated, though, and it felt like a brick of heat walking in. But I acclimated quickly and the spots closer to the windows were a bit cooler. I didn’t visibly sweat during class.

The gentle heat made it feel cozy on a day when it’s incredibly cold outside, and it did feel good stretching in a warmer environment than usual. Adam coached us to be aware of how we’re feeling, to drink water whenever needed, and to stop if we felt dizzy and leave the room if necessary.

Those are all wise prescriptions for any heated yoga class, but the class wasn’t so overbearingly hot that I felt dehydrated or dizzy at any time.

I enjoy Adam’s classes; I’ve also taken his Yoga Flow class and recommend either.

This Is Not Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga is a very specific style of yoga. In Bikram, the studio is usually carpeted, lights are bright, it’s a set sequence of 26 postures done for 90 minutes, rooms are heated to between 95 degrees and 108 degrees at a set 40% humidity, and teachers are certified in Bikram.

So there’s Bikram, which is a popular style of heated yoga, and then there’s yoga done in a heated room in order to get some of the benefits of a warmer studio but without all the Bikram stipulations.

This was Vinyasa Yoga done in a heated studio. That meant it could be an hour long, the studio was at a better heat level for those new to practicing heated yoga, and it was a familiar (to me) Vinyasa style class.

Who would love it: 

Anyone who enjoys yoga and wants to try it in a heated studio. You might find yourself relaxing a bit into the stretches, and honestly, in winter time it feels good for the soul to be in such a warm room for an hour. I left feeling warm all the way through my toes, a wonderful feeling after a week of standing and shivering outside at school pick-up.

Know before you go:

  • Bring plenty of water and a towel because you might sweat more than usual
  • There are new anti-slip towels to go on top of your mat that you can use for the heated class – that way you won’t slip if your feet sweat
  • If you’re worried about the heat, remember that you can take water, take a break, or step out of the studio at any time

FYI – Limited time only? This class is currently on trial at the Equinox, so if you’re curious, go to one of the three remaining scheduled Heated Vinyasa Yoga classes on Saturday or Sunday at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow and then next weekend (Dec 16 and 17). If it goes well and seems popular they may add regularly scheduled heated yoga classes in January. A good month for hot yoga. I think I’m in favor.

 

Slow Flow Yoga with Lauren Star

• 1 • NYR 2017

This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.

Progress: 48 Classes Down, 2 remaining (Heated Vinyasa Yoga and Cardio Kick)

I had such a lovely morning you guys.

To get to class on time, I had to ask Greg to get the kids ready and to school. And on a walk to school day, no less – which is fun but more time consuming since he then has to go back home and get in the car rather than just dropping them on his way to work.

I can’t tell you how good it felt to slide their packed lunches into their backpacks and then peace out of there while they were still in their pajamas eating breakfast. No reminding them of the time and suggesting that maaaaaybe they could eat at a rate of more than one bite per hour. No endless reminders to get their socks on.

Instead, I was in the car, drinking my coffee, listening to Freakonomics Radio and looking forward to yoga.

It was nice. Really, really nice.

And on another note, my Equinox app informed me this morning that Adam Caplan’s 4:30 p.m. weekend Vinyasa classes will now be Heated Vinyasa with a studio temperature between 85 and 90 degrees. So… essentially it’s a different class.  More yoga for me!

 

Class: Slow Flow Yoga with Lauren Star

Class length: 60 minutes

Description from the Equinox: Slow down and deepen your practice. A vinyasa practice that focuses on quality transitions between posture and awareness of breath and mind.

What Class Was Like

Class was wonderful. This class had a strong flexibility and regeneration focus. We had time to breathe in many of the poses for flexibility, and there were lots of gentle back-bends and spinal twists. We did several Sun Salutation A sequences, balance poses and some long breaths in headstand/shoulder-stand or modified leg lift.

It’s hard to accurately remember and record the sequences and poses of any yoga class, which is why perhaps the most helpful thing to do is to try different instructors and styles for yourself, knowing you’re learning and growing in the process.

So instead of trying to remember a list of poses for you, I’ll say that my general impression was that this was a relatively gentle, beginner-friendly class that will allow you time to relax into your stretches and align your pose before you move on.  My legs feel wonderful afterward, and my arms always felt ready to embrace the next Downward Facing Dog to High Plank, as opposed to some classes where I experience muscle fatigue from the number of Sun Salutations and time in Downward Dog and start looking at the clock halfway through wondering when the arm work will ever end.

Lauren wove some mindfulness reminders into class, encouraging us to bring our full attention and focus to our bodies and be fully present in what we were doing rather than thinking about current events, etc. Truly focus your mind on where your ankle is, how it’s moving, make a cognizant effort to engage the necessary muscles for the pose. Not only does this type of mindfulness give our brains a much-needed break from stressful thoughts, focusing fully on our practice will help us get the most out of each pose.

We ended with a generous (5-8 minutes perhaps?) Shavasana, which might feel long to someone unused to Shavasana but I really enjoyed. It was nice to let my body relax into the floor after it had worked during class, to focus on my breathing, and to let other thoughts go without clinging to any of them.

I wish this class were offered an hour later so I could attend without shirking school-readiness and drop-off duties. It was a wonderful start to the day and left me feeling a calm sense of readiness going into the weekend.

Who would love it: Anyone interested in yoga. Suitable for a beginner. Wonderful for anyone who really wants to stretch and restore. There’s still planking, Downward Dog, etc., but less time is spent in challenging poses and more time in gentle stretches compared to some classes. Lauren was a lovely instructor offering corrections, guidance, and somehow making the room feel like an oasis from the rest of this crazy world.

Equinox Class Review: Ashtanga Style Vinyasa Yoga

• 0 • NYR 2017

This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.

Progress: 47 Classes Down, 2 remaining (Slow Flow Yoga and Cardio Kick)

Today’s class was a gift to me, from me. I had a long, tedious, and very important task to complete this weekend if I was going to be able to go to yoga this morning AND I DID IT. Yoga and the steam room at the Equinox was my reward and it was so sweet. I feel lucky that I’ve discovered ways to exercise that I love so much I consider them a reward. If you are dreading your workouts, perhaps it’s time to switch what you’re doing. There are so many things out there to try, and it feels good when exercise is something you look forward to.

 

Class: Ashtanga Style Vinyasa Yoga with Renée LeBlanc

Class length: 60 minutes

Description from the Equinox: A Vinyasa style class sequenced off the Ashtanga primary and intermediate series. Ashtanga Style Vinyasa includes correct breathing, posture, and gazing point. While the class is mostly physical in nature, it’s ultimate aim is to calm the mind.

What Class Was Like

Class began with an Ashtanga inspired warm-up of quickly moving through an Asana series to increase heart rate in order to slow down later for a more traditional vinyasa style class. Sun Salutations mixed with other sequences, with a few quick breaks to make class-wide corrections to help everyone move forward in their practice. We took a few moments to work on our forward bends with our backs to the wall so we could feel the way weight should be properly distributed forward, and we dedicated a small amount of time to the technique for crow position and back-bends.

I’ve enjoyed having different instructors as I take every class at the Equinox. Every yoga instructor I’ve had has given me gifts of knowledge that have progressed my practice. I think of Renu when I line my heels up in Warrior II. Cheryl when I pay close attention to my tendency to misalign my hips in Warrior I. Adam when I lift my sit bones higher in Downward Facing Dog. Adena when I press my heels down. Iain when I inhale deeply so I won’t get dizzy coming back to standing. And that’s not an exhaustive list of the things I’ve learned from these instructors that have made me stronger or more comfortable in my practice.

Renée offers these gifts, too. I have no doubt that regular attendees of her class will leave with different pieces of information each time as she highlights areas of form for the class to work on. She modeled correct and incorrect ways to enter many of the poses, and I found her language about our bodies trying to trick us into making poses easier both amusing and welcoming. It was a refreshing acknowledgment that our bodies want to collapse into side angle so we can reach the floor more easily, and it’s up to us to get the most out of our practice by keeping our technique strong even though it’s more difficult and can mean we don’t go as deeply into something.

I left class with a new exercise to strengthen my wrists (which tend to give out on me in side plank) and with some new things to remember to align more correctly.

Who would love it: Anyone who enjoys yoga and is familiar enough with the practice to allow pose names to be their cues. The Ashtanga style warm-up flows quickly so you’ll do best if you’ve had practice with Sun Salutations prior to going into class. Talking to someone else who took class, there was a feeling that this was more intermediate than beginner yoga. I did feel sore for longer than usual afterward (several days).

2017 New Year’s Resolution Update

• 0 • NYR 2017

This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.

I’ve taken 46 classes.

Winter is coming.

The end of the year approaches.

So… what’s left?

The December class schedule hasn’t posted, but if class offerings remain the same as they were in November, I have yet to take Slow Flow Yoga and possibly Cardio Kick. The reason I say “possibly” is that Cardio Kick sounds exactly like what I experienced when I took Cardio Sculpt… a class where I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was a kick-boxing class. Well, now the class offered the same day, time and instructor is now called “Cardio Kick”. So… is it a new class? Or not? Will it be offered in December? We’ll find out.

I’m also torn about taking True Barre again. The difference between True Barre and Barre is that True Barre is a prescribed formula designed by Equinox to provide a similar signature experience across their clubs, whereas Barre varies by instructor. I’ve signed up for and “taken” True Barre twice, but both times there were substitutes who taught Barre. So I’ve essentially taken two Barre classes and zero True Barre classes.

Splitting hairs?

Totally.

But I like Barre and I have all of December to finish this New Year’s Goal, so I might as well take True Barre again.

What happens if December 25th’s schedule is all Tinsel Tabata, Let It (Yoga) Flow, and Wrap It Up?

Seasonal exclusions apply.

Seriously, though, my plan was to try everything, not beat myself up over some unique holiday offerings that happen while I’m visiting family in Maine. I missed some Thanksgiving specials in November, and Halloween HIIT in October, so if the goal was to never miss a single class offering, it wasn’t a great goal because even with a month left I can’t take those classes because they’re gone!

So I’ll take every regularly scheduled class and then on my well-earned Christmas vacation up in Maine I’ll raise a glass in honor of everyone doing Ho, Ho, HIIT back at Chestnut Hill!

Defining goals so they’re attainable makes sense. Staying in Massachusetts for every major holiday and taking four specialty classes in a row so I can say I didn’t miss anything does NOT make sense.

Besides… if I’d stayed in MA for Gratitude Yoga, I wouldn’t have beautiful memories from our trip to NY. And at the end of the day, happy memories are the real reason behind all of this. I work out to be my healthiest, happiest and best self so that I can be the parent I want to be and enjoy what life has to offer. I love my exercise endorphins, my quiet moments after a hard workout, the resiliency and patience I build.

Oh, and the muscles.

Because you never know when you’ll want to be strong enough to hold your five year old on your shoulders for an hour and a half of the Macy’s Day Parade, or be an impromptu chair for two in front of a museum exhibit.

So whatever your goals are, use them to strengthen you for what really matters, and define your goals in a way that doesn’t conflict with your bigger picture.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Equinox Class Recap: Sweat and Surrender

• 0 • NYR 2017

This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.

Progress: 46 Classes Down, Approximately 1 or 2 To Go (class offerings sometimes change)

I brought a friend with me to class today! Turns out, we get guest passes at the Equinox (3 a year and I believe you can purchase more) and I’ve never used mine…. until now! With a teacher workshop day after a four day weekend, it seemed like the perfect time to bring a friend to yoga and let our kids (who are thick as thieves) play in the club play space together. We enjoyed the company, and she enjoyed class!

Last week I actually went to B/Spoke for the first time with another friend, so I’m on a social work-out roll here. It’s really nice to have someone you know there and then grab a snack afterwards. One of my goals for 2018 is to see more of my friends, and joining them for a class they love or inviting them to the Equinox with me is a great way to do that.

Class: Sweat and Surrender with Renu Shukla

Class length: 60 minutes

Description from the Equinox: A combination of vinyasa, restorative yoga, and breathwork to create an energizing yet relaxing practice. This harmonizing practice will help bring the body, mind, and nervous system into balance.

What Class Was Like

Flowing sequences intermingled with a few restorative poses.

A frequently used sequence was this version of sun salutation: upward salute, forward bend, flat back forward bend, high plank, chaturanga, upward-facing dog, downward facing dog. We flowed through the poses, making this a better practice for those familiar with common yoga poses because verbal cues tended to be the names of positions rather than step by step instructions on how to enter and align in the pose. Those looking for more instruction and time between poses might enjoy Alignment Flow Yoga, a class that breaks down poses more because of its focus on precision and alignment.

Other poses mixed into the practice: cobra, chair, crow, shoulder stand, locust, boat, warrior one, warrior two, side angle, child’s pose, cat, cow, rag doll, side plank and savasana.

This class feels similar to vinyasa, and the amount of time spent in plank, side plank and downward dog meant it required more strength than I think is implied by the breakdown on Equinox’s website.

Who would love it: Anyone who enjoys yoga and is familiar enough with the practice to allow pose names to be their cues. Renu offers corrections, is welcoming of all levels, and offers options for many of the poses, but attendees will feel most comfortable and get the most out of class if they’re familiar with yoga going in.

It’s a good class for working your upper body, breathing deep into those stretches in between the challenging work sequences (that’s the surrender part!) and walking out a bit stronger. I always enjoy Renu’s classes and feel like I’ve worked hard when I leave.