Yoga Toes

I always take a quick glance at the last few pages of magazines where they advertise all sorts of crap - from psychics and thumb rings to breast enhancement creams and "pen pals" (depending on what magazine your reading). In several women's magazines I've seen ads for Yoga toes. Apparently they're supposed to help alleviate foot pain by stretching and realigning your toes. I think they actually look pretty comfy and would feel nice after a long day on your feet (especially paired with a bubble bath and a glass of pinot gris).

Unfortunately, those aren't the yoga toes I'm thinking of. I'm thinking of actual feet-digits, the little piggies you press into the mat in downward-dog. To compliment our new fitness regimes (I've done 2 sessions with a personal trainer and she's in P.T.) RKG and I decided to check out Yoga to the People. Peter recommended it, and he's not exactly low maintenance so we figured we'd give it a shot. The studio is really cool, conveniently located, and clearly popular - the room was packed. I haven't done yoga in at least 2 years, but I enjoyed it then and figured I'd remember the basics. What I forgot was how hard yoga is! Forget the body postures (it was like a really intense game of twister), clearing one's head is not easy when you're less than 4" from the person next to you and every time you try to "flow" and take in a deep breath for cobra you find your face planted in the feet of the amazon woman in front of you.

The good news is I figure if I can empty my mind in that setting I'll be able to do it anywhere. We're going to aim to go once a week. I just wonder how long it will take for me to a) have the postures down enough that I can focus on my breathing more than maintaining my balance, and b) not think about what I'm making for dinner while in Warrior 2. It's especially hard when the aroma of Chinese food from one of the nearby restaurants wafts in.