I’m not a Yogi nor am I all that big into the whole Yoga scene.
My scene consists of lifting heavy ass weights, performing olympic lifts, and loving the sound of iron plates banging together. It’s music to my ears.
For the past couple months, my wife has been going to CorePower Yoga at Kahala Mall with several of her friends, and each time she asked me to come.
Like most husbands who are asked to go to Yoga, I said, “Nah, that’s okay.”
Note: I’ve gone to many yoga classes with my wife. Some on my own will and some by guilt. I have a basic understanding of yoga movements, how it all works, and I actually enjoy savasana - the relaxation pose.
But it was this whole idea of CorePower Yoga, which has become a huge thing happening in Honolulu that I hear a lot of people talk about. I’m not one to go with the trend. It’s a stubborn thing really, but I was adamant that I would not go to CorePower Yoga. Plus, I’m don’t like crowded spaces.
I always hear how awesome the workouts are but then I also hear about how CorePower Yoga is commercializing Yoga, making it more like a fitness class, and losing sight of what it is to practice Yoga. Then there is the thought that CorePower Yoga has a cult following like CrossFit, and if you’ve been following my blog you know I have a beef with them too.
“Daniel, do you want to come to CorePower Yoga today?” my wife asked me again with the hope of me saying ‘yes’ one day.
“Nope, I already worked out today.”
“But you said you’d go this morning!” she replied while placing a hand on her hip.
“Well, I didn’t say ‘Yes’.”
“You didn’t say ‘No’ either, so in my head that means ‘Yes’, and are you saying you don’t want to spend time with me?”
Guilt trip.
So I submitted and went to CorePower Yoga. My wife packed an extra yoga mat, towel, sweat towel, and water bottle. I was curious why I needed two towels which only led to her giving me the ‘look’.
On the way there, she informed me that the class isn’t exactly Yoga, it’s actually Yoga Sculpt that incorporates Yoga flow with weight-training and cardio for a total body workout. Again, I started going on about how the hardcore Yoga practitioners are slamming their heads on a table.
“Daniel, just go in there with an open mind and open heart.” And I did.
When we arrived at CorePower Yoga at Kahala Mall (important to get there early, because it gets crowded fast), I signed up for my free classes for the week where all new members are encouraged to try out the wide variety of classes they offer. (See schedule HERE).
The person who signed me in was very welcoming, nice, and also reminded me to go in with an open mind. I guess I don’t look like your normal Yogi-dude.
We walked into the studio and it was definitely warm. I placed my mat on the ground and got situated. There wasn’t much people in there but my wife assured me that class will fill up quick.
She told me to grab a pair of dumbbells. She wanted the 3lbs and mentioned we’d be using the weights during the class. I wasn’t going to try and be a superhero so I grabbed the 5lb dumbbells and the 8lbs just in case I started to feel like one.
As the room quickly filled up, the class started. Calming music began and our instructor, Juri, got us moving. We started off with breathing, loosening our bodies, and slowly flowing through positions. It was one of those ‘calm before the storm’ things.
Then the beat dropped.
I was downward dogging, chaturanga-ing, doing push-ups, lunging, tree pose, airplane pose, and more. Pellets of sweat began to drip down my face and I never knew my shins could sweat so much.
Then Yuri had us grab our weights. I was not feeling like a superhero so I grabbed the 5lbs dumbbells. Now I was in a crescent lunge to press, squat to press, lunge and curls, holding warrior two pose, and all while still flowing through Yoga poses with and without the weights.
At one point I was in the superman pose trying to swim away from a shark which I had no chance of getting away from because my shoulders, ass, and back had a deep burning sensation.
Great exercise for strengthening the lower back and glutes
Then as I flowed from a crescent lunge with the weights in my hand and went into an airplane pose, there was a constant flow of sweat falling from my chin as if a faucet was turned on.
The two towels my wife brought for me became more like mops. My shirt soaked with sweat. There was no way I was going to take my shirt off even though majority of the guys had already. I kept it on because there was a good chance of a flash flood warning from all the sweat my shirt blocked..
At the end of the hour long workout, I laid in my favorite position – savasana. Yuri guided us to let go of all of our worries, negativity, and clear our minds.
Instead of clearing my mind, I meditated on the fact that I actually enjoyed myself, and that troubled me. It’s like as a young kid when I realized vegetables weren’t so bad after all and that ice cream probably isn’t the healthiest thing to eat every night.
I meditated on the fact that I’ve been so against going to CorePower Yoga but yet there I was, laying in the studio with close to 50 people swimming in their own sweat and feeling pretty damn good about myself.
As we left the studio, my wife looked at me, smiled, and asked, “How do you feel?”
“I feel awesome,” I replied wiping the sweat from my face and arms, “check out how smooth my skin feels.”
It was a great experience.
I’m all for people coming together to feel better about themselves, strengthen their bodies, be active, and get a good sweat. When it comes to building a Ku body, although I prefer lifting weights and tossing things around, I don’t force it on others. It’s about finding what you enjoy doing and keeps you motivated to become a healthier and stronger You.
You won’t find me becoming close to a Yogi any time soon.
But damn you CorePower Yoga – you are Ku with me, I’ll see you again.
Aloha
Oh yea - Namaste, too.