Amanda Mattioli, Patty Dewey, Wendy Firestone and Carrie Fisher take part in the Mellow Flow class at Rishi Yoga.
ST RE TC H
Photo/AnnA hArt
THE TRUTH A poser’s guide to the local yoga scene
10
|
RN&R
|
03.09.17
By AN NA HART
O
ver the course of many years, my various friends, family and psychiatrists have attempted to impress upon me how beneficial yoga could be, that it could calm my mind and improve my physical wellbeing. For many years, I have willfully resisted, not wanted to change my glamorous sedentary lifestyle in favor of a spiritual workout plan where I’m judged by my inability to put my feet behind my head. But I have recently found myself unable to function. I have generalized anxiety disorder, GAD for short, and depression. Every day feels like a constant battle between the overzealous, nagging worry and physical tension that frequently overwhelms me and the person that I desperately want to be. It is a rough day when you finally realize that you need to make life changes. So, when the
opportunity arose to explore the growing yoga community in Reno, I jumped at it. I was not sure of what to expect when I went into these classes. Would someone read my aura? Would they force me to hold a handstand in silence for an hour and contemplate my feelings? Was I joining a Lululemon cult? With the way that people talked about yoga, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some Kool-Aid in the complimentary tea. Over the course of a few weeks, I worked hard to get over myself and keep an open mind. I had always associated yoga with one of two things: A deep, meaningful and spiritual affair that I couldn’t possibly comprehend or a degradation of yoga, taken over by the Tammys and Beckys of the world who co-opted meaningful symbols and made them into crop tops with glitter “om” signs that say “Namaslay.” And during
my time visiting the yoga studios around Reno, I saw both sides of that spectrum. But realistically, the most common atmosphere was one that treated yoga as a fluid force, allowing us as practitioners, or yogis, to derive our own meaning, purpose, and level of spirituality. The first few classes were difficult. It was hard not to feel self-conscious and incapable. I tried to take comfort in the fact that there were sometimes elderly attendees to the class, thinking I wouldn’t have to struggle alone. But then a couple, who I had heard talk about their first great-grandchild, practiced their headstands against each other, and I lost the hope I had. After a few classes, I started to feel a little bit more comfortable, especially listening to the advice of fellow students, like Roxane Osborn, a student at The Studio. After a car accident nearly 15 years ago, Roxane took up yoga to help her find
