My very first encounter with yoga was through a book I found on my mom's bookshelf when I was about 6 or 7. I didn't really know what it was. I just remember there were drawings of a boy holding his arms and legs in various positions. I can't tell what prompted me to do it, but I started following what he did in the book. I only have a vivid memory of two poses: Dhanurasana, Bow Pose, which I hated, and Savasana, Corpse Pose, which I *loved*.
In high school I started going to a health club near my house, and I would take yoga there with this woman, whom I suspect (with very high confidence), is a 60s-wild-child-flower-in-my-hair hippie. She had a calm, singing voice that sounded like spring time. She would say things like, "Look at your feet, your feet are smiling back at you," if we were practicing Padmasana, Lotus Pose, for example. I didn't know what she was talking about half the time, but I just remember that I liked being in her presence.
When the local gym was sold to the 24 Hour Fitness chain, she stopped teaching, and I stopped doing yoga with a live teacher. I discovered Steve Ross's show Inhale on the Oxygen network, and I would drag myself out of bed at 6 in the morning to do it. At first, I had to sleep on the sofa in the living room and set the TV alarm to turn on at 5:55 on the Oxygen channel, so that all I had to do was roll down to the floor, where I had set the mat the night before. I would go through about the first 15 minutes with my eyes shut. It was surely a "labor of love", the only reason why I went through all that trouble was because I loved the format of his class. He was serious about having fun. He had wake-up music, he had people grooving to Ukatasana, Chair Pose, he laughed often.
I started a more serious yoga practice doing Bikram at Rain City Yoga in the Seattle U District in 2001. It was the end of Fall quarter and I was feeling super spazz, and I went to Rain City at a suggestion of a friend. The instructor, Marta McDermott, was amazing! She was funny, genuine, and personable. She explained the benefits of each pose, and showed modification if needed.
Then Marta moved away and Rain City changed ownership, and other types of yoga found themselves on the schedule, so I tried them out. I found myself more and more drawn to Power Vinyasa, probably mainly because of the instructor, Colin. He had a way of teaching without domineering, and I actually felt like he was a big brother to me.
I drifted in and out of the studio (student budget isn't always compatible with yoga studio prices). I started buying yoga DVDs and got to know all the who's who of yoga, Beryl Bender Birch (still have her VHS if anyone wants it), Bryan Kest (that crazy hair!), and Rodney Yee (that shiny hair!).
Fast forward a couple years and I was now doing yoga at The Sanctuary in Redmond practically every other day. I was glad to have a teacher who could adjust my posture, and people that I could say hi and bye to before and after class. I also explored more yoga styles, like Baptiste Yoga @ Shakti Vinyasa in Ballard.
I did less and less Bikram, and gravitated more towards "other" yoga. I no longer felt self-conscious chanting and saying Ohm. I was even leading it. I started taking regular Tuesday/Thursday classes with Amber, whose classes I cannot get enough of.
Still in my exploratory phase, I am now hungrily watching as many DVDs of as many Yoga Gurus out there as possible. Currently rotating on my playlist are
- The Primary Series - Richard Freeman (Ashtanga Yoga)
- Sun Salutations, Lunar Flow Yoga - Shiva Rea (Shakti Vinyasa Yoga)
- Chakra Yoga - Gurutej Kaur (Kundalini Yoga)
- Soul of Strength - Baron Baptiste (Baptiste Yoga)
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