Yoga Plus

Yoga Plus seems to be a vehicle for Maggie Wong to teach people to move, listen to their bodies, reflect on how they feel, and stay healthy. She doesn't offer much in the way of rigor; no Power Yoga classes or Vinyasa Flow. She just wants to make sure that your body moves the way it's supposed to. From what I can tell, her practice is geared toward an older set. She teaches Introductory Yoga, Experienced Beginner Yoga, Gentle Yoga and Vini Yoga.

I went to her Gentle Yoga class, held at the Carderock Springs Swimming and Tennis Club. There were 5 of us there, one gentleman who looked to be in his early sixties, and three Japanese women ranging from 45 to 55. Maggie explained that she advertises at the Tokyo Women's Club so she has a lot of Japanese students. I can't remember exactly how she put it, but she also explained that the class was not a very vigorous class. But I knew that from the name. And after that Tuesday's run, still taking stairs at an embarrassing pace, I was looking for some gentle.

But it was seriously gentle. And I would write it off as positively geriatric if it weren't for the "body massage ball" she used in the class. It was pretty damn cool. It's a 5-6 inch ball you use to massage your own muscles. We spent twenty-five minutes going up each side of our bodies, starting with the sit bones, hamstring, calf, and moving up again to the buttocks, back, shoulder, armpit, chest and neck. It's not the most graceful endeavor, but you really can get into your muscles with that ball, and I left there feeling an awful lot like I'd just gotten a massage.

The rest of the class was too light for me, but that's not so much a reflection on Maggie as her students. If I were in my 50's, I have to say, I'd be damn grateful to find a yoga class that didn't include a bunch of surya namaskara and arm balances. She moves her students the way she knows they aren't moving themselves. And she tells them why. And she doesn't try to get them to do the things that won't necessarily injure them, but just might. I'm not a believer that you should be able to do in your 50's--or even 40's--what you do in you 20's. Hell, I'm slowing down in my 30's. 

Comments

[Cara Fletcher]

I think yoga is the best decision for senior ladies for example because it's not so tough like fitness for example and it can help them stay healthy and in shape.