“Paz”

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Last night I attended my first yoga class in Spain.  It took me forever to find a place that taught yoga, and I was thrilled to finally get to one.  This particular studio also taught Tai Chi and Pilates, so I was not worried and thought whatever kind it was would suit me aside from my practice at home – of course I brought a yoga mat to Cordoba!  The first class was free so I figured I would see what I thought.  First of all, we started off the class by running around the room in circles and then running with our knees up to our chest and then with our heels to our butts.  Then we did a few suicide-like moves, specifically we ran back and forth, jumped down to the ground and pushed our feet back into a push-up position and jumped back up, clapping our hands above us.  We did this for about 20 minutes, then we got into pairs and did sit-ups.  At this point I had to ask my partner if I was in a yoga class.  He said yes, and that we were just warming up.  Next, the teacher left the room for about 15 minutes while everyone else got out white towels or blankets to lie down on, congregated in a small circle and begin chatting it up like it aint no thang.  This is when I actually felt a bit embarrassed to have an actual yoga mat.  When the teacher returned in her yoga t-shirt, she turned off the lights and started a meditation which I barely understood, as I am still getting accustomed to the strong accent here, but the mood was right.  We finished the class with some breathing exercises, and for a final touch, the teacher held up her right arm and said “paz” and everyone left.  Very interesting.  No asanas or postures.  I talked with the teacher afterwards and she said that they usually do asanas, but about once a week she does more of a meditative class.  She also told me that as soon as I sign up as a member I will see that they do asanas.  I am a bit skeptical of this and of the yoga in Cordoba, considering the fact that this studio was very highly recommended several local Cordobeses.  While I am trying to be open-minded about the differences here, and I have never been to a yoga class that began with running circles around a room and ended with a quick “paz”.  As a certified teacher I would actually like to teach it myself but I know I can´t do it legally.  I actually wouldn´t mind teaching for free, but I know I´ll either have to get this Spanish dialect down or teach it in English.  I will keep looking into that and keep a positive attitute.   While the yoga was not at all what I expected, at least I didn´t have to pay.  

   

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Tags: Spain, yoga