Where&When: 13th Street just west of 7th on a pretty street with trees and townhouses and a party spilling out of the LGBT center into the street. 6:15 pm. The whole building, including a storefront on the street.
www.iyiny.org
Overall impression: This place is not mistaken in calling itself an institute. I liked that it so completely posessed its building, that it integrated with the consumerist world of New York by having a bookstore on the street, and that people were coming and going without me being able to figure out to what purpose. The class felt a little impersonal, no assists or real interaction with the teacher. The staff was friendly and helpful to me, however, and the facility was comfortable and pleasing enough without being stylish. There were nice paintings on the walls even in the stairwell. I got the overall feeling of a community center rather than a salon or gym.
Type: Hatha
Level: II/III. It was gentle and relaxing. I only sweated for five minutes.
Duration: 1:30
# of Yogis: 8-10
Teacher: I think his name was Roy, but I am unable to verify that on the website. He felt anonymous, dressed in white, a very kind bearing. He had a more masculine energy than most yogis I encounter, which was interesting.
Temple or gym? Absolutely temple.
Front Desk: Located in the storefront bookstore. Very friendly, smiling people. I called in the morning to ask whether the level II/III was appropriate for me, and the woman I spoke to was also friendly. When I presented my passbook cupon, I was given a laminated paper pass that I placed beside my mat like everyone else for the teacher to collect.
Boutique: A nice bookstore. I bought a big box of nag champa and bummed a big paper bag to carry my books in.
Coat/ Shoes/ Valuables: There were lockers available and locks for sale, but I just took all my belongings into the practice room with me. There were racks for shoes on each floor.
Bathrooms: Three stalls in the changing room.
Changing Rooms: Women on the 2nd floor, men on the 3rd. Nice and sunny with a wall of curtained windows and benches. Lots of lockers, a water filter on the sink.
Showers: Didn’t see any.
Towels: Only paper towels.
Practice Rooms: There were at least three floors (I didn’t have occasion to go higher) and one or two rooms on each floor. The place might have been huge or I may have seen it all– unsure. It was definitely an institute, though, expansive. My practice room was small and filled with light from a nice window. Carpet! Walls white tinged with blue. A small altar by the door, where I saw the teacher kneel and light a candle.
Props: Blankets, flat small bolsters, blocks, straps, and mats available in the practice room, if not more that I didn’t notice.
Comments on the Practice: This was my first Hatha class in years, and I was expecting to hold poses longer than we actually did. The sequencing was very slow, however, and though I could feel that most of the people around me weren’t really synchronized with their breath, I experienced it as a slow-motion Vinyasa.
I felt comfortable with the sequencing overall– we began with AUMs, warmed up, surya namaskar, standing poses (lots of lunges, warriors, triangle), then cobra, sphinx, shalabhasana, dhanurasana. I really enjoyed holding the dhanurasana for many breaths. We practiced foreward bends (baddha konasana, janu, upavistha prasarita, paschimo) and then a seated spinal twist and a long sirshasana. I started my cycle today and though there has been much discussion on the benfits or detriments of inversions while menstruating (comment this!), I decided to go for it, and felt really wonderful after. Savasana after headstand, and pranayama (breathing practice) after that. Only a moment of meditation, and then the closing AUM, followed by chanting Asato Ma Sat Gamaya & Lokah Samastah (no call & response!) as well as something in English, the teacher praising the name of a guru, and each yogi/ni ending in “Jai” instead of “Namaste.”
I enjoyed the class and felt rejuvinated by it, but next time I go I will definitely take a higher level.
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