Two days ago I decided on a whim to google "Yoga Studios Raleigh" in leiu of my usual boredom searches (like baby pandas, or baby hippos, or baby otters, or baby pugs) to see if there were any classes going on I could afford -which I assumed was unlikely, since I drive my beat up '94 Acura on E every day and consider my dinners extravagent when I can eat an entire can of peas and a whole chicken breast.
After ruling out a few places I stumbled onto Open Door Yoga.
After reading a little I was intruiged by a few key points they stressed on their website- the first being how they casually stated that they wanted to encourage a practice of Yoga that was welcoming and safe for all people at all levels. I've taken a few classes back in my hometown of Richmond and they were really intimidating, if not a little annoying. I got kind of left behind if I didn't know the vocab for the poses and- I'm not really sure how to say it nicely- it was all a little too yoga-ie for me. Like I totally wanna stretch, listen to my body and feel centered and connect with my breath and stuff but I'm not trying to reach enlightenment in 90 minutes or have some cosmic spiritual moment while balancing on one foot. I have nothing but respect for people who experience yoga this way and who get that much out of it emotionally- in some ways I'm a little jealous of it. But I'm way too practical for those things. I want something to chill my mind out and make me stronger and more flexible and give me a decent workout. The super spiritual mumbo-jumbo gets a little beyond me, and while I'm really interested in yoga's physical benefits I'm a little skeptical of the other stuff. But I was hopeful that this was a studio that might be a little more real world about the practice.
The second thing that's cool about Open Door is their prices. And by that I mean there aren't any. Everything is paid for by a donation system- so essentially they put trust in their students to honestly pay as much as they can afford per class. The suggested donation is 12 dollars, and it's stressed that practicing for free isn't really smiled upon, but Open Door truley wants to make Yoga available to everyone- and make it possible to pay a little less when money's tight, and a little more when you're able to. So, noting my afformentioned driving on E and survival on 98cent canned vegetables, this flexibility appealed to me. Just to be clear about this, don't think I'm trying to be cheap or cheat anyone out of proper payment- but I really appreciate and relate to the "less when you can't, more when you can" idea. Plus I think it says something really positive about the people running a studio when they're willing to adopt that philosophy.
Open Door teaches Heated Hatha Yoga, which is basically Yoga turned up to 11 if you get my meaning. It takes the basic core of a Yoga class and puts it in a 90-105 degree room (I didn't ask specifically how hot it was, I got that number from Wikipedia. What you should know is it was freaking hot in there.). I'd never taken hot yoga before, but since I've been dancing for awhile and have been focusing a lot on core strength and balance lately, and because I survived two summers running around a football field in that kind of heat, I felt like I could be up to it. I was glad I've been drinking a lot more water lately anyway, as apparently a lot of first time students aren't properly hydrated and get dizzy or naseaus or pass out sometimes. My friend also cautioned me not to push too hard through the poses, as injury is easier in hot rooms where you can't feel yourself over stretching. So possible fainting, puking and injury aside I thought "Hey, I've got a free morning. Why not do something different? All I've got to lose is my pride and my legs and my breakfast."
So I woke up early and headed over. Firstly, Open Door is exactly as welcoming as the name implies. My instructor was an adorable peppy little brunette woman manning the desk when I walked in and seemed genuinely excited to have a new student- there was actually four of us in the class that day. She walked me though all the normal waiver paperwork and what to need and expect, asked about my experience level (she seemed politely concerned for me when I told her I'd only ever done yoga a few times and none of those recently), and promised to explain everything so I wouldn't get left behind. She directed me to the studio and to go lay out my towl in the back row and get settled. I walked into a steamy, but not oppresively hot room wih about 12 people already in it- most of whom appeared to be napping. I layed out my towel in the back corner and sat down, and within a few minutes I could already feel myself sweating. Before I could consider the fact that I hadn't even started doing anything yet and I was dripping or that I probably should have tried harder to take off last night's eyeliner before it ran down my face the class was getting ready to start.
The whole class was kind of a blur so I couldn't really give you a play-by-play if I tried or if I thought you wanted to read that. But I'll tell you a summary of that 90 minutes:
The teacher was great. I think her name was Alex but I'm really not sure so I don't want to say for certain. She gave wonderful, detailed information in a very relatable and unpretensious kind of manner and even made a few cute jokes. My classmates were all at varying degrees of experience and strength, and I at no point felt inept or confused about what we were doing. I did feel a little silly during the breathing exercises but did my best, and was really surprised and happy at just well how my work on my balance/breath in dance this year translated.
That being said, hot yoga is some seriously hard shit. But outside some physical discomforts- the heat, constant dry mouth no matter how much I drank, elevated heart rate from the environment, and other minor annoyances like getting a grip on my leg when my body's turning into a human slip and slide or sweat stinging my eyes when I bent forward- the true challenge in hot yoga is all mental focus. Once you accept the heat and just get inside that moment with it, it's incredible. And the small victories you gain by pushing just a little longer or going just a little farther are remarkably rewarding because of that. The class had an even balance of opportunities to push and strengthen myself as well as moments to ease into things or just breathe and relax. I felt a little weak at moments but nothing a swig of water didn't cure, and at the end I was quite litterally swimming in my own sweat. The towel I'd used for a mat was soaked, the bra and shorts I'd been wearing was soaked, my hair was soaked, you get the point. And I felt incredible when I left, for the entire day afterward. My muscles were exhausted- that bone deep kind of tired that tells you you really did something that day- and my mind felt clearer and calmer than it had in weeks. I also felt wide awake and ready to do just about anything.
I plan on going back to Open Door as much as I can manage before I leave Raleigh, and have a new kind of faith that yoga actually can be approachable and effective. I'm looking forward to my next class!
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