Yoga! Yoga!

Rooftop yoga is back in season, and I attended two sessions this week. One was co-led by one of the co-founders of Laughing Lotus; the vibe was festive / karaoke / party.  I love doing yoga on the roof of the Greenwich House because the surface is so spongy. After some rain in the afternoon, the weather was perfect, breezy and pleasant above the 7th floor, unlike the still, humid air at street level.  Unfortunately, they installed new playground equipment since the summer when Allison led the class, and it's no longer possible to hang upside down.  We did do some supported inversions though, and the co-founder assisted me in my first ever descent into (I think) bridge pose or full wheel (i.e., the killer back bend) - it was a bit scary because I know my arms are not strong enough to do this on my own, but I'm glad she coaxed me into it!  Apparently, Laughing Lotus started on this roof - by some coincidence, their rooftop yoga classes were how I really caught the yoga bug a few years back.  (The other "improvement" on the roof -- some garden boxes -- means lots of tiny ants on your mat if you are right next to them!!)

The second class took place on the roof of my building - a much less demanding class, but fun and relaxing. (It was basically a marketing event for the concierge's fitness adjunct.) They also had pitchers of water, one with citrus and mint, the other with cucumber and mint, which we guzzled happily while waiting for participants to reach critical mass. We ended with a guided visualization that took a "healing light" (in my case, sky blue) through every part of our bodies from toes to crown. One guy fell asleep before we got to the Oms!