Soaked!
Taught my first class ever at "The Yoga Studio" today. I'm scheduled to start with them in January, but in the meantime, I'm filling in some classes for the mighty David Robson.
I've tried driving around downtown TO before, and it's maddening. Light, after light, after light. The streetcars add their own extra element of frustration, as their tracks are set in the center lane. So when the streetcar stops, cars in the right lane have to stop as well for the passengers to cross onto the sidewalk. Long and short of it all - driving 10 kilometers in TO takes 45 minutes in traffic - often more with construction - and don't forget the cut-throat antics of parking.
So - onto the bike! The forecast was true to its predictions, and as I opened the door, I was greeted by gray skies and rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Riding in the rain is worse than riding in the snow. Snow by nature is dry, rain gets you soaked.
I'd peeked at the map last night, and it looked like 10 km to the studio. I live on Bathurst and Queen, and I had to get to Yonge and Eglington. A lot of map lay in between those 2 points. Time for some pedal-pushin'.
What a slog! Toronto, as I'm beginning to find, is a hilly place. Yoga makes you strong, but my cardio could be better. I was sucking wind up a steady barrage of hills, and now that I'm older, have no qualms of dropping down to the tiny gears. One day, I'm sure (probably when the snow flies in a few weeks), I'll be utterly shameless and push my bike up some of the hills. By the time I got to the studio, it had taken 35 minutes. Yikes. I had better start getting fitter, or consign myself to leaving earlier.
I was a bit nervous teaching this class. David R is a yoga star here in TO. A super nice guy with the most incredible practice ever, he also has a very strong following of students. So, when all they get is little 'ol me, I get apprehensive. But despite all that, people turned out to be really receptive. After a few minutes, the waver in my voice disappeared, and I had my momentum. In the end, things went great and the students left happy. Probably the best thing I did was to teach my style of class, taught what I knew, as opposed to trying to be someone else.
Hung around the studio for a little while longer, and talked to Steph the manager, and Scott, another instructor. He's one of the junior guys at the studio and he's been there 4 years! So, I count myself lucky to have broken into the yoga community here. (Many thanks to David R's recommendation). It's eye-opening to see how many folks are making a go as professional teachers here.
With that, I hopped on the bike for another very rainy and wet ride home.
I've got to teach again later on tonight, but in the meantime, it's time to dry off and have a nap:)
cheers,
j
I've tried driving around downtown TO before, and it's maddening. Light, after light, after light. The streetcars add their own extra element of frustration, as their tracks are set in the center lane. So when the streetcar stops, cars in the right lane have to stop as well for the passengers to cross onto the sidewalk. Long and short of it all - driving 10 kilometers in TO takes 45 minutes in traffic - often more with construction - and don't forget the cut-throat antics of parking.
So - onto the bike! The forecast was true to its predictions, and as I opened the door, I was greeted by gray skies and rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Riding in the rain is worse than riding in the snow. Snow by nature is dry, rain gets you soaked.
I'd peeked at the map last night, and it looked like 10 km to the studio. I live on Bathurst and Queen, and I had to get to Yonge and Eglington. A lot of map lay in between those 2 points. Time for some pedal-pushin'.
What a slog! Toronto, as I'm beginning to find, is a hilly place. Yoga makes you strong, but my cardio could be better. I was sucking wind up a steady barrage of hills, and now that I'm older, have no qualms of dropping down to the tiny gears. One day, I'm sure (probably when the snow flies in a few weeks), I'll be utterly shameless and push my bike up some of the hills. By the time I got to the studio, it had taken 35 minutes. Yikes. I had better start getting fitter, or consign myself to leaving earlier.
I was a bit nervous teaching this class. David R is a yoga star here in TO. A super nice guy with the most incredible practice ever, he also has a very strong following of students. So, when all they get is little 'ol me, I get apprehensive. But despite all that, people turned out to be really receptive. After a few minutes, the waver in my voice disappeared, and I had my momentum. In the end, things went great and the students left happy. Probably the best thing I did was to teach my style of class, taught what I knew, as opposed to trying to be someone else.
Hung around the studio for a little while longer, and talked to Steph the manager, and Scott, another instructor. He's one of the junior guys at the studio and he's been there 4 years! So, I count myself lucky to have broken into the yoga community here. (Many thanks to David R's recommendation). It's eye-opening to see how many folks are making a go as professional teachers here.
With that, I hopped on the bike for another very rainy and wet ride home.
I've got to teach again later on tonight, but in the meantime, it's time to dry off and have a nap:)
cheers,
j
posted by jaydubmah at 1:47 PM
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