Although I may pump jams like B.O.B’s Airplanes or Travie McCoy’s Billionaire on my iPod whenever I work out on the elliptical at FitRec, I never thought these songs would be the soundtrack to my first real yoga class. But that’s exactly what Sweat and Soul Yoga on Comm. Ave offers on a daily basis: hip hop yoga.
At first, I was skeptical. I always had an interest in traditional yoga, learning some basic stances like the Child’s Pose or Downward Facing Dog whenever I could get a friend who had taken a class to give me a quick, pseudo-lesson. My curiosity in the subject is why I decided to bring a yoga mat back to Boston after winter break and finally try this Hindu discipline of exercise for myself.
But when a friend suggested we check out this new twist on yoga, I worried instead of a enjoying a calming, centering experience that I would be forced to pop, lock, and drop it in an embarrassing display of my poor hip hop dance skills.
Still, I went in last Saturday with an open mind and I’m glad I did because I loved the class and picked up a lot of new yoga skills. It struck the perfect balance between fun, with Rihanna music blasting like a Friday night party, and relaxing.
And after an hour and a half in an 85 degree room, a temp as close to a real tropical climate as we can get in this snowy city, it is hard to leave feeling anything other than sweaty, a little sore, rejuvenated, but mostly proud of the work out you just finished.
A little research on the subject showed that it is not just a growing trend among college students. Yogahop, as it is sometimes called, is a favorite workout of movie star Reese Witherspoon, according to Glamourand Shape magazines.
Witherspoon studies with Matthew Reyes, an instructor that Yogi Times calls “youthful and energetic.” He is often credited for founding the concept, described as “an East meets west style that’s athletically fulfilling and spiritually soothing” on his studio’s website.
Another celebrity getting in on the movement is Russell Simmons, who produced a video called Yoga Live and was quoted in a Yoga Journal article saying, “The world does what the hip-hop kids do, so if hip-hop kids pick up yoga, the world will have to pick it up.”
With an estimated 30 million Americans practicing yoga, it may seem that everyone has already caught on to this craze, which has ironically grown out of a prehistoric Hindu philosophy. Over time, yoga has constantly been developing, as one instructor, Jason Crandell, put it in a Yoga Journal article: “The history of yoga is one of interpretation and modification. I see no reason why practitioners won’t continue to be innovative and meld the practice with other things.”
Now I fear that normal yoga class with anything other than songs like Diddy’s Shake Ya Tailfeather would be a bore, pailing in comparison to hip hop yoga. I can’t wait for my next class and hope to see you HC ladies there.