Fitness Class Review - Yoga Flow and Inversions at Lululemon

As I mentioned last week, I have been out of commission for a while due to injuries. But this week, after my foray into TRX on Monday, I was full bore, guns blazing, on a mission for fitness.

Saturday morning found me freezing cold and exhausted, and presented every obstacle, but rather than rolling over and going back to sleep, I persisted in heading over to Galleria Mall for a yoga class at Lululemon Athletica Buffalo. And despite trying three different entrances, and eventually parking at the complete opposite end of the mall, I was only about 10 minutes late (like I said - obstacles #firstworldproblems).

The store manager was very helpful, setting my mat up for me on an empty space in the center of the room while I pulled off my jacket and boots. The lights were turned down, and the display tables had been pushed to the periphery, creating a cool, comfortable, decently spacious area to do yoga. In the background, a talented musician named Kurt Ebsary from Leaky Ledge Studios was playing a baglama unobtrusively, contributing to the atmosphere. (Check out the video of him playing baglama on his facebook page! I'd never heard this instrument before, and it's very pretty. Also, he's totally on Spotify if you want to give him a listen.)

The ever-talented Dr. Joanne Wu of Fit2BWell was teaching, with assistance from Jeanna from Acroyoga Buffalo, who was adjusting form and assisting people to get into poses. Ostensibly, the first part of the class was just a standard yoga flow class, but every move was selected to work on the basic components of the handstand. Working on the core, on balance, on stability, and other basic foundations of yoga will help with confidence and strength when it comes to actually supporting yourself, upside down, completely on your hands and arms.

I know that I am not the only one who is very intimidated by inverted poses - by nature, we are inclined to protect our noggins, and many of the inverted poses put us in seeming precarious positions with nothing between our cranium and the hard, unforgiving ground (or a slightly less hard, slightly-but-not-much more forgiving yoga mat).

These poses are what some people consider the gold-medal yoga poses - the most impressive, the most photogenic, and the most fun to show off for your friends. (I mean, come on. What yoga blog doesn't have a gorgeous photo of the blogger standing on their hands at the edge of a canyon, the top of a mountain, or on a beach?) And while they are by no means necessary to the practice of yoga, they are a nice push to the next level for experience practitioners.

Photos that a very cursory google search turned up of yogis doing handstands in picturesque locations

I had originally thought that once the flow part of the class had finished, I would sit the inversion part out. Between how out of shape I felt, and the recent wrist surgery, it just didn't seem attainable. However, the partner-based movements eased into the inversion so gently, I figured that I could try them to the point where I didn't feel comfortable, and then tap out. 

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The first exercise was to have two partners, one in plank position, and the other standing behind them. The person standing was to pick up the legs of the planking person by the ankles, and position them at the standing person's hips. The standing person would then walk forward toward the center-mass of the planking person, pushing their legs up as they went. The planking person would allow their body to pike (fold) at the waist to an "L" shape with their arms, head, neck and torso perpendicular to the ground. This allows them to experience the sensation of being somewhat balanced on their hands, and having their head below their body. From there if they were comfortable, the standing person could begin to bring the inverted person's legs up, with the goal being to have them above their torso in a handstand position.


This exercise was an interesting introduction to the feeling of a handstand - as I mentioned before, it gets you used to the idea of being upside down, without the pressure (at first) of balancing and stabilizing your legs. It was a little bit nerve wracking, however, having a partner push your legs from from a plank - it did feel like if they pushed a little too hard, you could go over on the back of your head, and there was nothing you could do about it. This, of course, did not happen, and my partner was wonderful, but I am a habitual worrier, and pathologically need control. Which is why I liked the second exercise

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The second exercise again involved two partners, with one still standing behind the other as the support, but this time the inverted person starts in 3-leg dog, placing the lifted leg onto the other person's shoulder. The standing person held onto their leg and braced, while the inverted person tightened their core to straighten their body out, placing their weight on the support person's shoulder, and lifting their other leg. The support person could then gently guide them into an upright (upside-down) position.


I definitely liked this better than the first one. I think it may have to do with feeling more in control. While fundamentally they do very similar things, and reach the same end-goal, this modification felt more comfortable to me. Definitely a good example of why teachers should always show different methods, as some other people liked the first version better.

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The third and fourth inversion exercises were back-bends. The third was a pretty ingenious modification of wheel pose that used a partner to take strain off of the hands and back. This was definitely the easiest of the inversion exercises, and I wish I'd thought of this one years ago - it's a great hear-opener pose.

The fourth inversion exercise was a c-r-a-z-y acro yoga pose that I never though in a million years that I would be able to get into. The base lay on the floor on their front in cobra pose. The flyer then placed their hands onto the base's calves, and proceeded into the second handstand exercise (3-legged dog, foot on spotter's shoulder, push up into handstand). They then proceeded through the handstand, into an upside-down back bend, and the base was to catch their foot with one of their hands! It was a very intense pose, and proved to be a bit too much for my inflexible back, but I did get into the pose for a second - a second that I am very proud of.

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All-in-all this was a fantastic way to kick off my weekend, even if it involved getting up early on a Saturday and going out in 10* weather.

While inversions may not be necessary for a yoga practice, they're fun if you do them safely and know your limits. Listen to your body, challenge yourself, and make some new friends and help each other on your fitness journey! And if all that fails, drink some juice! (Thanks for the samples, Grove Juice Truck!)