Yoga, Portland style

I went to my first Portland yoga class last night. The first thing that distinguished it from yoga classes I've taken in New York was the fact that I drove there. It felt like it sort of defeated the purpose, to go somewhere to get exercise, but to drive there? I know I should ride my bike, but the forecast called for rain and I was pressed for time and blah blah excuses.

The second weird thing was that there were more men than women in my class (3 men, 2 women, including myself). That never happened in New York. Also, the other woman in class was not super skinny and beautiful. She was in good shape, and attractive, but not like the uber-flexible, thin, toned and somehow tanned women of your average New York yoga class. I felt less competitive than I usually do, which is probably a good thing, since yoga is meant to relax you, probably not to make you feel bad about yourself for not being able to touch your head to the floor while pointing your right leg towards the ceiling.

My teacher was great, as dynamic and knowledgable as any teacher I've had in New York. And the studio was clean, spacious, and smelled good. The only odd thing was that it was located right above an Enterprise car rental place. It was also strange to look out the windows and see so many trees. But really kind of nice!