When I was invited to attend a few yoga classes as a way to preview what the Lehigh Valley Yoga Festival is all about, I was instantly game. I’ve been practicing yoga pretty consistently—but extremely casually—for the last two years. To give you a sense of where I’m at, let me put it this way: I know my cats from my cows, but can’t, for the life of me, master crow pose.
The form of yoga that I’m familiar with is your typical Vinyasa Flow. It’s a lot of guided breathing, and entails setting your intention for the class and being fully present. But there’s also a lot of movement. Depending on who’s teaching the class at my gym, there can be a lot of sun salutations as well as warriors one through three. They almost all finish off with eight minutes of deep relaxation, laying on the floor in corpse pose. This is called shavasana and is, for some, the most enjoyable part of a yoga class. Me? I’d rather slip on my sneakers and hurry home in time to catch The Real Housewives on Bravo, but I know, I know, it’s a pretty meaningful part of the class.
Like I said, I started getting serious about yoga after college, during an internship at Men’s Health magazine (the onsite energy center allowed for easy access to complimentary classes, and I began going three times a week). But, really, I first dipped my toes into the yoga universe during college, which is when I began to appreciate what a unique and beautiful concept it is: no judgment, constant praise, the permission to nap.
I genuinely believe that everyone in this world would be a better human if they mixed a few yoga classes into their regular routine. My experience discovering Iyengar, Kundalini and Yoga Under the Stars has only reinforced this belief. Probably the best way one could possibly get acquainted with yoga, and decide what does and doesn’t work for them, would be to go to the Lehigh Valley Yoga Fest, coming up this month at Moravian College.
Read on to learn more about some of the different classes that will be available at the festival.
Iyengar Yoga
Alignment is something that’s essential to every yoga class, but with Iyengar, it’s the very core. When I think about alignment, I imagine laying on my back, with my left leg planted flat on the ground and my other leg being lifted up and over to the right side, suspended in the air with my foot in a strap or belt. The idea is that even with your right side being pulled in one direction, your left hip remains firmly rested on the ground, keeping both hips even and, well, aligned.
This concept was stressed over and over again during the Iyengar Yoga practice. When the instructor, Katrina Pelekanakis, demonstrated one position, which involved a partner pulling the belt around another’s hip to create openness, the entire class ooh’ed and aah’ed and couldn’t wait to give it a try. It was like everyone was so stinkin’ happy about getting aligned.
And that was the tone throughout the entire class: happy. Participants were thrilled to be there, excited to help one another and constantly learning, smiling and just practicing.
Don’t expect any Warrior Two’s in this class. The closest we got to that was bridge pose at the end of the practice. Otherwise, we were pretty focused using two different sized belts to lengthen and align our bodies. People with back or hip troubles should definitely give this a try. It all felt more physical than mental—there was no soothing music or deep breathing.
Iyengar Yoga is available throughout the month at Sky Yoga. Don’t be fooled when you pull up to a giant office building otherwise known as Hanover Office Plaza—the studio is actually gorgeous and incredibly tranquil.
Kundalini Yoga
I think I smiled throughout the entire Kundalini Yoga class. When I heard it involved internal cleansing and meditation, I figured it’d be a pretty sedentary experience. Honestly, I expected to be asleep. I was in for a big surprise!
The instructor, Ravi Hari Kaur, was dressed in a white dress and scarf, wearing large glasses, her lips painted red, and had a giant bun on the top of her head. She was like a character out of a movie, and I left completely obsessed with her.
She taught us to be “spiritually aggressive” as we air punched, clapped to the rhythm (in an exercise she compared to the game of patty cake) and flapped our arms like chickens, all of which we were instructed to do “with conviction,” of course.
Kaur constantly reminded us that she didn’t care if we were doing the movements on beat or even correct for that matter. As a person who lacks both coordination and rhythm, this was much appreciated. It was a class that was impossible to mess up, which was made clear when she had us hug ourselves. Kaur said that, while there’s not always someone around to embrace you, one must always remember that we have the ability to embrace ourselves. Go ahead; give yourself a hug.
We finished up with a happy dance when she put on some upbeat music and urged us to do whatever our bodies wanted. We bounced around, swayed and had a laugh, all of us in our own little worlds.
Kaur reminded the class that we might not leave the practice totally de-stressed—she was actually riling us up a lot throughout it. But she pointed out the importance of eustress, the good kind of stress that’s actually beneficial to success, productivity and overall happiness. She gave the yoga class as an example. She had to organize her music, get dressed up and be prepared to teach, but she knew that it would ultimately bring her happiness and that she had the right resources to do it.
I related this to sending the magazine to print. I’m triple fact checking everything, the designers are perfecting each page and the advertising executives are settling any loose ends. Sure, it’s stressful, but the good kind. It’s the kind that I love, because I have a good grasp on the situation and am confident with the product we produce. That’s the kind of stress we should all strive for, she says.
Catch one of Kaur’s classes at Yukato Yoga or The Yoga Loft of Bethlehem.
Yoga Under the Stars
While I had never practiced yoga anywhere but in a studio before, I knew I would enjoy Yoga Under the Stars—it was listed on our Lehigh Valley Bucket List, after all. Arriving at the Allentown Rose Gardens, I was a little concerned I wouldn’t know where to go. I quickly spotted a clan of people with yoga mats and followed them out towards the pavilions where the class would be held. By 9 p.m., nearly 100 people had plopped their mats on the dewy grass and were ready to get started. I, for one, was amazed with the turn out. I’m typically in bed by this time on a Sunday night.
Lit only by the citronella candles that were scattered throughout the field, the moon and the building in the distance, it got real dark real fast. The class was taught by Prabha Sinha: the founder of the Pratyush Sinha Foundation and the organizer of the Lehigh Valley Yoga Festival.
If you’ve never taken a yoga class before, let me warn you: this might not be the best one to start with. It’s not that the class was advanced—if you have your child’s pose and down dog under control, you’ll be fine—but all instruction was done over the microphone. There wasn’t a mirror or instructor to rely on for demonstration, and, as I already mentioned, it’s not so easy to spy on your neighbors once 9:45 p.m. rolls around. However, if you’re looking for a class where you can’t really be seen and don’t have to worry about what you look like, this could be perfect for you!
Most of Sinha’s commands started with “maybe,” which I just loved. It felt like nothing was an instruction, but, rather, a casual invitation. We were all going at our own pace and doing our own thing.
Surrounded by nature, I definitely felt connected to the earth. But I was also standing on top of it. My mat was a little lumpy—and a little slippery from the moisture in the air—which made it impossible for me to nail my normally perfect tree pose. At least, that’s the excuse I told myself.
One of the most beautiful parts about Yoga Under the Stars is supposed to be the worshipping of the full moon. The class is scheduled for the time of the month when the moon is full—or “at its full potential,” as Sinha puts it. While we still bowed to it and chanted in its direction, the moon was disappointingly low, hidden behind a few trees. But hey, that’s Mother Nature for you!
The next Yoga Under the Stars will take place on August 21st, but on August 6th, you can enjoy a sunset walk and yoga from 7–9 p.m. Stay up to date on events here.
These experiences are free and a must-try for anyone living in the Valley. Make a donation to support the foundation’s mission.
The Foundation
The money raised from the evening goes directly to the Pratyush Sinha Foundation and its efforts to bring yoga and mindfulness into the community—for instance, by incorporating yoga into after school programs.
For Sinha, all of this is really more about community building than it is yoga. At the end of her class, she stressed a strong community’s ability to change the world. “We are all so isolated by social media,” she told me, but something like yoga in a field or a community-wide fest can really bring people together.
She’s hopeful that seasoned yogis will come out to support the event on July 22nd, of course, but she’s really longing to attract some of the people who have never tried yoga before. She gives the example of a person who might be wheelchair bound, saying that this person would have no problem participating in and benefiting from the day’s activities, whether it be listening to the talks about mindfulness or engaging in the classes themselves.
If there’s one thing I know about yoga, it’s that it’s all about acceptance and adaptation. What could be better than that?
To read about the time I conquered the Greenmouth juice cleanse, click here.
