“Yoga And” has been blogged about a bunch on this blog lately, most comprehensively by Cate here.
I live in a plain and ordinary place. There is no goat yoga, kitten yoga or beer yoga on the program (although I heard a rumour that beer yoga was in the planning stages and thankfully the yoga instructor said something to the effect of “WTF NO!”) One of the disadvantages of it being so plain and ordinary is there is not a lot of choice around going to a yoga class. You can go way to early in the morning, 10am or way too late (I can’t do it at 8pm, I’m toast). The early afternoon, when I am most available is the time all the other people who go to these studios are either at work or home for naps with their toddlers. So I’m out of luck.
My daughter suggested I check out YouTube for yoga videos and I scoffed. But you know what? I actually like them.
First of all, I can peruse them to find an instructor that I like. I prefer my yoga without too much nattering by 22 year old instructors. That may sound harsh to the young folks but that’s how I feel. My life is messy and I’m not always happy. I don’t strive to attain happiness anymore, I just want to be. The older instructors understand this better.
Once I find the person, I commence the yoga. That’s where the kitten comes in.
Actually, he is a cat, a soft, smart, arrogant little black cat. He is up in my business from the beginning to the end of the 40 minutes on the mat. He is used to the iPad being his toy (Check out apps for cats, it’s a real thing) and he occasionally pauses the video for me. While I am in downward dog, his tail is up my nose. While I am in bridge, he is hitting my head with his paw. If I am asked to step a right foot back, I need to make sure he isn’t laying there where I can step on him. Basically, he’s a pain.
The dog, on the other hand, stays out of my way.
I love it.
I really didn’t think I’d be that person who does yoga in her front hall with a person named Adrienne talking to her on a YouTube channel. These days, I take my activity where I find it. Dog walking, hall yoga with a cat and random inconsistent runs are what I’ve got on the menu. It’s all I have in me right now. That’s okay.
I hear many people rave about Adrienne. I need to check her out.
Yoga with the kitty makes it real. And you have probably learned a bit of acceptance of interruption. Less perfection, more life.
Awesome!
Thanks for sharing this. Off to google Adrienne.
Anne
Yoga with Adriene is amazing.
I completely agree with you in that sometimes the young, upbeat yoga instructors are too much. Lately, I’ve been using the Down Dog app and I love it, even though I have to wedge myself next to my bed and a shelf I hit every uttanasana. Luckily my lab doesn’t crawl around my legs like your adorable kitten does!
HI Susan– thanks for the honest and funny post. Hearing about where people are in their whole lives is a big help. I’m going to check out Adrienne too. I currently use Bad Yogi videos, although she is probably 20-something and can twist into a pretzel. Still, I like the variety of targeted yoga videos she offers.
The thing that is cool about Adrienne is how although she has videos with awful titles like “Yoga for Weight Loss” she utterly ignores the idea in her practice and talks about non harmful ways of acknowledging the body. She’s a bit “extra” sometimes (as my daughter would say) but overall, she knows what is important.
I love doing yoga with YouTube videos! If you want to switch it up from Adriene, you can also try Lucy Foster-Perkins. I love her. Her videos are ostensibly “yoga for surfers”, but I just really like her no-nonsense style.