ASHTANGA YOGA AT MIAMI LIFE CENTER
Ashtanga Yoga at Miami Life Center
"Mysore" yes, you bet!
During a recent trip to Miami, I realized that my hotel was just 3 blocks away from the world famous Miami Life Center. This was totally not planned. So I viewed it as a sign from the Universe that I must go there and take a class during my visit. I knew that MLC was listed as one of the top studios in the world. I had read about it being dedicated to the study of Ashtanga yoga in the lineage of teacher Sri K Pattabhi Jois and his teachings in India. I also knew its founder, Kino MacGregor was one of a select group of people to be certified to teach ashtanga yoga by its founder Sri. K Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India. So I've always wanted to visit and take a class there.
I am one of those yoga geeks who tries to get in a class or two while on vacation. In fact, my vacation whether short or long never feels complete unless I get in a few formal classes. Plus it's always fun to connect with other yogis in different cities. Having said that, once I realized the proximity of Miami Life Center , I was super stoked. So my second day in South Beach, I called up the center and to my delight the receptionist assured me that I was walking distance away. So I grabbed my mat and headed there. By 11am, I was fully involved in an intermediate Ashtanga class with an instructor named Esmaralda. Esmaralda (which is one of my favorite names ) was super petite and warm. What most impressed me about her was her hands on style, knowledge and strength. Mind you, my teacher certification is in Vinyasa. Ashtanga is super challenging. It's very athletic requiring deep breathing and concentration. What struck me most about this particular class was no music. Just the sounds of 6 students breathing on mats facing each other. Esmaralda took the time to move around giving each one of us deep assists and she challenged us to go deeper on individual poses that she seemed to intuitively know we could handle. Once we finished, I thanked her and told her it was probably my third Ashtanga class ever. So looked surprised then she encouraged me to return for the Mysore class the following day.
So the next day, I returned to MLC. I showed up 10 minutes before the scheduled time. I paid the 25 dollars drop in fee to be guided by the other owner, Tim Feldmann, Kino Macgregor's husband. So once I stepped into the room, it was already full with other students who had arrived 20 minutes to 30 minutes prior to my arrival. Mysore I felt, yes I can hang, I've got this. Well I soon learned maybe not. You see all the practitioners in the room had all the moves committed to memory. I soon found out they weren't just warming up. They had already begun.
While I had tried Ashtanga before , clearly this was a whole other level. So, Tim's assistant , Monica came over to me and said , " start doing the first series. I replied, " I thought everyone was warming up." She said we assist but you are on your own. I stood frozen and nervous then replied," I don't want to be a distraction." She advised coming to a guided class later that day. I told her I was only in Miami for two more days and that class didn't fit in the schedule. That was partially true but honestly I wanted to stay in Tim's class. So then Monica gave me bits and pieces to remember and so I began. What I soon learned is there is a discipline in this practice like no other. It was hard, very hard. The one good thing I had going for me was my deep breathing. My breath was my strength and my guide. Every few seconds I would glance around the room and find myself in awe of what I observed. I mean unbelievable yogis doing their thing, so focused and so incredibly committed. I thought do I walk out now or no stay, yes stay , work through it. So I stayed, I stayed. I actually became Monica's child that day. I felt like she was my guardian. Then Tim would move around the room , a few winks from him gave me some assurance to stay. One binding position he actually assisted me and helped me to go deeper. That's when I told him I was new to the practice. Like Monica, he gave me bits and pieces to remember. Overall, I found the experience to be challenging. Honestly, probably one of the most challenging yoga classes I've ever taken. The staff at MLC were so loving, encouraging , strict but super supportive. I left the studio drenched with sweat. That's the hardest I've ever worked. Seriously the hardest yoga class ever but I loved it. Boy did I feel it the next day and the day after that too.
Mysore is named after the city in Southern India where Ashtanga yoga originated. There are many Ashtanga yoga centers still there today. I've only seen photos but it looks beautiful . For me, "Mysore" also has a literal meaning "my sore." Yes it kicked my butt but I loved every bit of the challenge.