As a CHAARG Ambassador, I get to try some popular, out-of-the-box, sweat-in-my-eyes workouts. One of my favorite studios that our chapter has had the honor of attending for free is Music Row’s own Shakti Power Yoga.
Imagine this. You’re walking along a quiet road from campus in the evening, the day’s stress already peeling away with each step, yoga mat swung over your shoulder. Your GPS app says that the yoga studio you’re looking for is actually in that beautiful, canvas white building with sky blue trim ahead of you. You walk up the stone pathway, past the proud, towering oak, and onto the inviting patio to step across the welcome mat.
Sign up was easy—through the MindBody system—and taken care of before you even got there. No mat or towel? No problem. Both are free for first-timers and $2 each for returners (and trust me, you’ll come back). The class itself? Anywhere from a $16 student drop-in to a $5 for a community class. There is also a donation-based Karma Yoga class. All proceeds go to Small World Yoga, a local non-profit founded by a Shakti teacher to provide yoga to Middle TN residents that would otherwise be unable to experience yoga’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits.
Once inside the studio, the infrared panels gently warm you to a toasty 85 degrees while you are free to either settle into a seated or lying position on your mat or chat with your nearest yogis. Every class brings something different to the practice—which is what gets you hooked. Instructors allow ample room for play (rather than looking for perfection) and personalized attention to deepen poses or gently correct body alignment.
After the practice comes to a close with savasana, or corpse pose, a lavender-scented cool towel is placed on each student’s forehead, and a united sound of “om” completes the session. If you have to rush anywhere afterwards, 2 full showers in the two locker rooms (complete with organic products if you forgot your shampoo at home) ensure that you are feeling fully refreshed after the sweatiest hour you’ve ever experienced.
This place is home for me—a refuge that will ground me through rhythmic breath, unite me with complete strangers just as well as with best friends, accept me as I am at that moment (perhaps sore, inflexible, anxious, or needy), and allow me to laugh at my mistakes. And, as always, have some much-needed doggie play time with their rescued boxer, Clark, and their bulldog Hank!