This is where the magic happens.
Well, has been happening since the early summer. And more aptly, will continue to happen throughout my 101 day challenge. Open Door Awesomeness is a local studio in Raleigh, NC, founded by the yoga-driven Monica Bradfield. Since I started going, they expanded the studio offerings to develop a more rounded yoga experience. In addition to the founding classes (All Bikram, All hot), Monica and her talented yoga team added a simple yoga class, which is a centering mix of various poses tailored to the class participant's current ailments (a real savior after any "I over did it" time); an Ashtanga class that brought me to my knees during the numerous chaturangas and flow-throughs; Samana, led exclusively by a favorite teacher of mine (Renee), which builds off of sun salutations and works on core strength...and basically breaks you (in a wonderfully rewarding way). These additions, coupled with regular advanced classes, keep it fresh at the studio.
Open Door is a little oasis in Raleigh. A place I can bike to in under 10 minutes, sweat out all of my current frustrations and leave with a blissfully clear, peaceful and even (sometimes) euphoric mind. It's intensely rewarding doing yoga, or any activity that allows you to use your body so fervently that your mind is focused on the moment. You are always coming back to the present in class. People slip out of poses, minds may wander between postures and teachers make snappy remarks, but all of it works to keep you in the present. The room is sweltering at times; you are using every spark of mental energy to calm and lengthen your breathing; you're kicking with all your strength. Everything in class requires your attention. It's this attention to all that is happening-the dialogue, poses, breathing and intense humidity-that shuts out all of the chaotic energy that fills your brain outside the studio.
Some of the most meditative experiences I have are during and immediately after Yoga. Try it. Just once. Feel the joy of using your body to quiet down your mind. To shut out all the distraction and stimuli that we are bombarded with every day. To just see yourself in a mirror as you release years of tension, strain, and emotional bullshit locked up in all those tight muscles and scattered memories. Try it.
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