Greenhouse Holistic 88 Roebling & North 7th
Mon 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Intermediate
www.greenhouseholistic.com
"I walked into Greenhouse Holistic just as class began. Alanna Kaivalya sat in the center of the room, poised behind the harmonium. She began by asking us to go around and say our names, responding with “Hi Shira” and “Hi Jason” and “Hi Amanda” as we each take our turn. I felt instantly at home, even in Williamsburg, which is not a neighborhood I frequent, even for yoga. But for Alanna, whose classes I’ve taken at a variety of Manhattan locations, it was worth a venture into Brooklyn.
At the beginning and end of class, we chanted a Sutra. Chanting with Alanna is not just chanting - not just repeating - it is singing, it is using our voices to connect, and to connect deeply. As we sit and sang, she asked us to place our right hands over our hearts and close our eyes.
Alanna is not just a yoga teacher, but also a musical artist with two albums out on iTunes. The second she started out with her gorgeous voice and harmonium, I broke into a subconscious smile. I could not help it. Because I was not just a student, but also a sleuth, and when I opened my eyes to see if the other students are reacting the same way, they were. The devotional energy was palpable.
After chanting, Alanna explained the Sutra, "The only thing we are asked to do is to let go, to surrender. This is great news because it takes all the trying out of things, suggests that there is nothing to do, but to let go."
The asanas were woven around this theme of surrender, turning our palms up in Child’s pose “in a gesture of receptivity.” Alanna also integrated some of the recent hubbub about yoga in popular culture, not shying away from discussing a wide range of topics. As we flowed through an abundance of Sun Salutations and Chaturangas, she reminded us that yoga does not ask us to be a certain kind of person; it just asks us to practice.
Alanna is clearly a master teacher. This is evident in her practical use of anatomical knowledge (through challenging poses she makes me never doubt where my psoas is) and her vast knowledge of the Yoga Sutras and Sanskrit pronunciation. However, she does not conflate mastery with seriousness. She constantly reminds us to lighten up. She references Woody Allen ("90 percent of life is showing up") right after referencing Pattabhi Jois ("Practice and all is coming").
The playlist this evening included mostly devotional Sanskrit songs - I recognized the music of Krishna Das and MC Yogi - and was also peppered by club beats we dynamically flowed to in sequencing, that seemed to never end, but always get us deeper.
Alanna herself worked with each individual to get them deeper into the poses. Her hands-on adjustments were opening as well as demanding and not a single student was left out. She started at the front of the room and made her way back. Alanna even lifted the woman in front of me off the ground in Bow!
Alanna acknowledges that many of her students are also yoga teachers so she makes the material appropriate for them while also making it appropriate for the fashion designer doing Ashtavakrasana in the front row. She has a connection and rapport with her students no matter where they’re coming from.
At the end of class, Alanna approached the new student – the fashion designer who was changing into glitter slacks after class – and suggested that she start a line of glitter yoga clothes.
Drop-in classes at Greenhouse Holistic are $17 and the New Student Special is 3 for $30.
--Shira Engel for Yoga Sleuth"
YogaCity NYC | Yoga Sleuth Reviews the Best Yoga Classes in New York City
No comments:
Post a Comment