Remember your first yoga class,
the uncomfortable silence, and poses that went along with all the movement? Our first yoga teacher profoundly affects us and we hold them deeply to our hearts when we think of yoga and our practice. I think of the teacher’s gentle demeanor, flawless poses, her words, and her presence. She was the one who introduced me to YOGA JOURNAL 12 years ago and to this day, I still read the magazine, along with others like LA YOGA.
My first yoga class I was eighteen years old and dying to find a place that offered yoga in the chilly midwest. I saw yoga being offered all over the west coast and east coast, but not formally in the midwest until the YMCA offered it locally. What a relief it was to finally find this class. Hatha Yoga, or yoga 101. This was offered twice a week and then yoga studios began opening up all over the place and it no longer was a mystery in old town Milwaukee.
Yoga now is offered all over the place in Milwaukee Wisconsin, it’s just like the coffee shops on each corner, there is a church on each corner, a pub on each corner, and a yoga studio, religion for all, the yogis, the yoginis, the beer drinkers, and the Hari Krishnas.
Of all the yoga studios in the greater Milwaukee area there are two that stand out the most in my mind and that I cherish the most. YogAyslum located in Brookfield 12 miles west of downtown, and Yama Yoga in the heart of downtown.
YogAsylum is an all green yoga studio, cork floors and a warm ambiance as you walk in. The teachers there are great and fun to be around. You learn alignment and the basics you need to know as a beginner yogi/yogini. Meditation classes are offered and Pam’s meditation class is one not to miss.
Yama Yoga studio is one that has a beauty of industrial revolution to it, you have the old picturesque floors of the 1920′s tannery building it used to be, high vaulted ceilings and a view of downtown.
Two of my favorite teachers there are Tammi and Marietta. A great combination of Anusara and Power Yoga. If your up for a powerful class, Marietta’s your lady, if your up for a fun anusara inspired flow class Tammi is your gal. Both teachers bring elements of their own practice into it to make it a fun yogic journey filled class.
Now a resident of Santa Barbara, where everyone and their grandmother is a Yogi/Yogini, there are classes a plenty here, we are bursting at the seams with yoga classes, which is awesome with so many choices. Every time I do visit Milwaukee, my main stops are YogAsylum and Yama Yoga, along with my favorite coffee joint…Alterra coffee.
Who was your first yoga teacher and how did they inspire you?
Sat Nam
Kundalini Life Yoga
Drea
