Style: Somayog
Teacher: Richard Hudspith
Style: Rama Lotus

I haven't been sore the day after a yoga class for a long, long time. Today however my body feels more like the morning after a two-six and an ass-kicking. Sitting hurts, crouching hurts, walking hurts... as a matter of fact, anything I do with my body is painful today. Yesterday's Yang side of things really wrung me out. In all sadistic honesty I love the feeling. It's my body letting me know I traveled to new territory, working out the kinks in brand new ways. Or at least that's what I've been trying to convince myself all day at work, begging my beat-up body to follow my commands.

Looking over the schedule at Rama Lotus, I realize with delight that the planets must be precisely aligned, parting the seas and customizing a perfect remedy; Somayog. Having only tried the style once as an admitted skeptic, I found the experience to be truly rehabilitating. Tonight turns out to be no different. Somayog is all about developing sensory motor awareness. The movements are incredibly subtle and delicate, focusing heavily on posture refinement and body alignment. As we move through the sequence under the dim lights of the Crystal room, I feel myself coming back together and gelling. The timing couldn't have been more fortunate. Walking outside into the balmy night air sipping coconut water, I can't believe I'm actually operating the same body I was in two hours ago. I feel brand new. All the tension that had cemented itself throughout the course of the day has completely disappeared and dissipated. I'm back.

Style: Somayog
Teacher: Richard Hudspith
Studio: Rama Lotus

The art of posture. Tonight was my first time trying Somayog. I've always avoided this style. In all honesty, it struck me as yoga for really old people. As far as I understood, there were a few soft twists and bends that you could sleepwalk through. Favoring Ashtanga and Power sequencing, Somayog seemed like a waste of time. Today however, feeling beaten up by the workweek, a third Ashtanga class is out of the question. Based on my current physical state, this would be a perfect opportunity to take a day off and let my body recuperate. Instead, I'll finally see what Somayog has to offer.

So I'll admit it. I've changed my mind about "retirement-home-yoga". Somayog is so much more then that. It's designed around the concept of posture and alignment. It shares Yin's philosophy of letting go and letting gravity take over, but Somayog is very much its own unique creature. This is my first time in a truly restorative style of yoga. It focuses on sensory awareness, learning how to feel and control certain muscles or muscle groups. Somayog is a gentle and therapeutic yoga that particularly benefits the spine, pelvis and hips. Unwinding into the gentle movements, I'm loving the new sensations in this distinctly different type of yoga. It has such a slow, elegant precision, working with your skeletal structure and muscle composition. I take back every bad thought I've ever had about the style.

As class ended, the teacher boasted that after a hot shower I would probably have the best sleep of my life. I'm willing to find out. With another early morning on the books, steam is starting to billow out into the hallway, letting me know the water is at the perfect temperature. Somayog. I'm sold.