The Family Tree | Des Moines, IA

So I've said this in other reviews, but I want to take a moment to apply it to your general yoga studio knowledge. Most yoga studios don't have street signage. So, if you're driving to a studio for the first time, always include an extra 15 minutes to scope out the area (even with GPS), because you will most likely drive past the place three times before you know it's there. This extra time is definitely worth it, because I've always found it silly to stress myself out over going to a yoga class. I know we all do it from time to time, but in my head... I want to relax from the stress I already have, not use my class to overcome the stress of looking for the studio. Ok, on to the review!

LOCATION: In the art museum area of Des Moines, this location is pretty great. Amazing little neighborhoods of different architecture, great local shops, and if I had more time I'm guessing I'd discover fantastic local restaurants too. There is a free parking lot behind the house I didn't know about, so I ended up parking for free on the street a half a block away, no biggie. 

COST: I didn't see a credit card machine, so I'm guessing cash and check. I paid $15 for my drop-in fee. 

STUDIO: 1930s house converted into a yoga/massage studio. You should walk in the back door, off of the parking lot, to sign in and grab a glass of water in the kitchen. You can walk in the front door (like I did), but it will land you right in the middle of the class and feeling somewhat awkward (also, like I did). The first floor has a kitchen, bathroom (I think), living room, and dining room. The living room and dining room is where you set up for class, each section holding no more than 4-5 students, I'm guessing. Which is great, because it guarantees you some one on one time with the instructor. Upstairs houses three bedrooms each set up for massage rooms. The house is a clean, simple, warm (there's a fireplace in the living room I bet they use in the winter months), and welcoming set up. 

CLASS DESCRIPTION: Beginner's Yoga: The perfect place to begin. Discover yoga breath and simple poses to lengthen and strengthen your body while relaxing your mind. For students new to yoga, recovering from illness/injury, or those looking to brush up on the basics.
They offer a lot of family-orientated classes—prenatal, baby & me, and family yoga. I should have grabbed one of my nephews to test this out, but thought of it too late. Anyway, I wanted to share this aspect of the studio with you, since they focus on it more than some. 

INSTRUCTOR: Sarah completed a 200-hour level Hatha yoga certification through Tree House Yoga in Iowa City with James Miller. It was during her training at Tree House Yoga that she developed an interest and passion for Yoga Therapy and working one one one with individuals who are interested in developing a home practice that is designed with their particular needs and goals in mind. She is also currently enrolled at Body Wisdom School of Massage Therapy in Urbandale and looks forward to expanding her career in wellness. 

CONTACT: The Family Tree

What a wonderful way to learn yoga from the very, very beginning. I spoke with Sarah after class, and she said this series is based on teacher training, only instead of spending a whole week on the topic you only spend an hour on the topic... which is stripped down to the very basics to not overwhelm the newcomer.

The first half hour was spent talking about the origins of modern yoga (last week they talked about the origins of yoga in general, and Sarah reviewed it briefly). Topics like Shiva, Krishnamacharya, BKS Iyengar, Indra Devi (the first woman of yoga), and much more were brought up with only a couple sentences, but enough to get you more comfortable with understanding the full picture of yoga.

The second half hour was spent going over two poses. One was to review the pose from last week (downward facing dog modified against a wall), and the second was to introduce trikonasana (triangle pose) also against the wall. I like working with the wall, because it is an easy reminder of your alignment just by having your head, shoulders, back, and feet touching the wall... you know you're going into a pose correctly. And it's tricks like this that you can take home with you to work on more. Sarah talked about the importance of not curving over or collapsing into your pose so you can touch your toes, but to extend out through you head and arm to create a straight line from foot to finger tips. She worked with each student to modify for their past injuries or adjust appropriately for their body. And that was it. No savasana, no meditation, no vinyasas. It was really about starting off slowly and getting to know the poses and the background of yoga before even moving on to the next level. If you live in the Des Moines area, I can't encourage you more, if you're wanting to learn about yoga but honestly are nervous about starting. This class is made for you, and really is well-rounded way to discover yourself and yoga.

After class I had the pleasure of talking with Sarah for another half hour. She really has a genuine excitement over people learning about themselves and their health and wellness. She worked with me on a few issues I've been having, suggesting things I can do to practice through them. We chatted about what inspired this class (her teacher training, as mentioned above), and I apologized for walking into the middle of the class room during the third session. Thank you for sharing your energy and knowledge with me Sarah, namaste!

Oh! Yes! You should also know, it's pretty common for classes categorized as Beginners' Classes that they have a 8-9 week schedule in place. I'm guessing anyone would let you do a drop-in (as Sarah kindly did with me), but you really should get the full benefit of these classes and start when the schedule starts. If I had done more research I probably would have discovered I was crashing a series, but then you wouldn't get to learn all the weird things to avoid when taking your first class. Seriously, this blog has liberated me from fearing awkwardness, thank you for encouraging me to check out studios and fumble through with a sense of humor I eagerly look forward to sharing with you! I'm definitely enjoying my journey with you! 

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Ynomrah Studios | Madrid, IA

LOCATION: Beautiful, beautiful, green Iowa. I couldn't find a weekend class in Ames, but did find one in Madrid (pronounced mædrɪd... think someone from Boston saying Madrid, with the accent on meh...). It was a half hour drive of nothing but gorgeous farmland until I came upon this town of 2500-ish. Free street parking. 

COST: Drop-in fee was $8 (they have a nice little yogi shop in there, so I imagine they take cards... I paid in cash, so I'm not sure).

STUDIO: The front entrance (or the side the address puts you at) is not the entrance, but there is easy signage taking you around the corner to the door you enter through. It's an old building—think exposed brick, high ceilings, old hardwood floors... I love old buildings. They updated it nicely with paint, hanging lights, and curtains. The actual yoga space is a nice size... could easily fit a class of 20, but we had four today. 

CLASS DESCRIPTION: Yoga 1 For all levels A REQUIREMENT FOR BEGINNERS. This vinyasa style class is a perfect place to discover your strength, flexibility, alignment and form. Learn basic breathing techniques & hatha postures that will help you de-stress and build core strength.

INSTRUCTOR: Lisa I couldn't find a bio for her... sorry.

CONTACT: Ynomrah Studios 

I. Am. Mortified. Back story? Ok... we had a rehearsal wedding/dinner to attend last night, and they were kind enough to make me a special vegetarian meal (I don't eat meat or dairy). When they brought me a plate of cheese stuffed raviolis covered in cheese & mushrooms... I thought, uh oh. But I'm not completely strict with my dairy and know that when we travel I may not be able to have food my way. So, I politely ate half my meal. It was really good. Then when dessert was cheese cake,  I figured I'd done the damage already, why not? This... this is why not. 

I should give you the heads up, people who are trying yoga for the first time, it is VERY common for you to show up 15 minutes before a class starts and no one to be there... the yoga studio locked, no one in sight. Sit tight, my friends, two or three students will show up and then the instructor. It's so easy to set up the yoga studio for class (turn on lights, lay out mat, done!) that it's normal for class to start two minutes after the doors are unlocked (unless you are going to hot yoga/bikram... they usually recommend you show up a half hour early to adjust to the temperature). 

When I entered the studio Lisa asked me if I had any yoga experience. Yep. And then we went into the room to get ready... waiting a few minutes in case anyone else showed up, the ladies chatted about a new place in Madrid (I forgot the name, sorry), where the food is supplied by The Radish out of Grimes. They all love the food there, so we may have to go this weekend. If not, when we return.

Then Lisa had us get started. She moved things along a little bit faster than I'm use to, more flow-like (which she confirmed, she does like flow). So it was good to work up the sweat a little quicker... until the sweat was the result of a cheese demon waking in my stomach. With every crunch and twist I slowly started realizing I wasn't going to be able to casually get through this class with out possibly getting sick... what do I do? Do I leave all together? I can't, I haven't paid yet... ok, I'm just going to go to the bathroom mid-class, that isn't unusual... so I started to walk towards the door when Lisa looked up, and I asked "Where is the bathroom?" She pointed back to the inside of the classroom to the small room that I thought was a dressing room... nope, bathroom. I now get to go to the bathroom with an entire yoga class listening on. Seriously?! And now that I've asked where the bathroom is... I can't continue out the front door seeing if there was a bank near by or anything. Ok... just go in there and splash some cold water on your face. Pull it together, Poppen, this is ridiculous. To avoid embarrassing details and ruining your possibly less disgusting view of me... I exercised the cheese demon. I had no choice. I hate myself. Maybe I can just stay in this room until everyone leaves. Maybe there's an escape route, a trap door, a candle stick that I move and the wall rotates me to safety. Nope. Nothing. 

Head down, I went back to the class, joined back in... fearful of everyone knowing my dirty, little secret. I tried to just get back into my practice, because Lisa was really leading a wonderful class. Working our core by holding boat pose longer than I have before, flowing in and out of forward folds. It really was a great starter class for anyone interested in getting to know yoga. Meanwhile, my brain is analyzing every horrible reaction... is that lady coughing because she has a dry throat? or is she gagging? everyone is staring at me, I know it! why is my yoga mat the only mat making farting noises when I go into downward dog. sigh. Where is the silver-lining in this story? If I tell you this story, you have no excuse to not check out a class... because you will never be as horrible as that one time (today) a new girl (me) came into our little class and changed our view of people from Illinois forever (sorry Illinois). 

After class I apologized to Lisa for interrupting the class, probably over-explaining myself as one does when they're embarrassed or self-conscious. If Lisa finds my little card and discovers this review... I'm so sorry your review was shadowed by my cheese demon. I really do recommend everyone else enjoy one of her classes... I, however, may never step foot in Madrid again. 

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Shakti Yoga Shop | Des Moines, IA

LOCATION: With my Tom Tom, this was a breeze. It's located in Shops at Roosevelt near Drake University on Rollins Ave (which is different than the address given on google maps). In looking for parking I found a free parking lot behind the studio, but I also found the last spot. Seems to be busy Saturday mornings, between yoga and the wonderful smell of the bakery a couple stores down... you can understand why. There is also free street parking equally packed. Two entrances to the studio, I chose the one off the parking lot, which was a good choice because the front entrance lands you right in the front of the class... which would have been awkward since I was running late (again) and the room was packed.
COST: Drop-in fee was $15

STUDIO: Beautiful! Walls were light yellow mostly, with an accent wall of moss green and some exposed brick. Ceilings were black with ceiling fans and HUGE paper lanterns hanging over the practice space. There were windows running along the front of the room, high enough to keep things private, but low enough to let a breeze circulate. The practice space was "sunken" with two areas up a couple steps. One being the back entrance where you check in, grab a mat (which I believe you rent), kick off your shoes & hang up your coat. The second section was where you pay for classes and/or buy merch. There was a bathroom and another little office area for the instructors. Great use of space.
CLASS DESCRIPTION: Levels 1 & 2—Move beyond the fundamentals in this moderately paced class and be introduced to more challenging poses.

INSTRUCTOR: Paula is an Anusara-Inspired Instructor and co-owner of Shakti Yoga Shop. She has been studying and practicing yoga since the late 1990’s. Paula teaches classes that are explorative, playful, and thought provoking. She takes pleasure in empowering students to connect to their inner strength, beauty, and divine nature. She loves learning from everyone around her, in particular her students. Paula is on the path toward Anusara certification.
CONTACT: Shakti Yoga Shop

You know, people in Des Moines are REALLY nice. Between Yoga in the Park last year and this class, people always say hello and introduce themselves. I really have to remember this when someone new walks into any of the classes I go to, it's just a wonderful way to start a practice. Paula, the instructor, was equally great. I walked in hurried, as usual, and realized the class was packed... with a look of "uh oh" on my face Paula quickly made a spot for me in the middle, back row to calm my worries. I'm always amazed with how easily you can squish a bunch of yogis together in a studio space and still have plenty of room for your practice. Paula handed me a sheet of paper saying, "We'll chant this after our three om's—you can just listen along if you like." Listen along? Oh no, sign me up!

Om Namah Shivaya Gurave

I offer my heart to the power of Grace

Saccidananda Murtaye

That lives in us as goodness

Nispraprancaaya Shantaya

That is never absent and radiates peace

Niralambya Tejase

And lights the way to transformation

It's official... I'm more of a traditional yoga girl instead of doing yoga only for sport, so to speak. I feel like I'm learning yoga the way it was intended to be learned when all parts of the practice are brought into the studio. And I know you can't do everything in an hour and half, but I appreciate any extras the instructor brings to class. I really do. Once we chanted, we got right to the point of things... stood up and started our sun salutations. There was no music playing, which was a new one for me. I don't know if it was an off day (there were speakers set up in the room), but I ended up not caring and just focusing on what Paula was trying to get us to do. And, I tell you what, she was trying to get us to do some crazy stuff. I think having such a mix in the class made it less intimidating though... there were all ages there, all body types, quite a few men—which was great to see, since that's rare, so far, in my practice. There were people who could hit every pose Paula threw out there... and there were people (like me) who attempted but it wasn't happening today, and there were people who just didn't bother at all. Love it!

The one, or two poses, or three poses really, that Paula had us do was going from Side Plank Pose (Vasisthasana) with your top leg bent/foot planted in front of you for support. Then you grab that support foot as if doing a forward Extended Hand to Big Toe pose (Utthita Hasta Padangustasana), only your leg is in front of you instead of to the side. Which then you swing that leg around to the front of the mat where you land in the splits (Hanumanasana). Say what? Yep... and people could do it. I... was not one of those people, but I was excited to see it in action! I could barely lift my support foot off the ground. I tried it though, which was fantastic. Why? Because my brain would have never thought of my body doing such a thing before, and now I'm training it to think it can and will.

Here's a video with a similar series (she doesn't need to use the support foot).

I realized, after re-reading my description, if you don't know yoga... hell, if you know

yoga even a little bit... what I said may have not been clear:

We ended in shivasana, where Paula didn't say a word. Still no music. Just me and my thoughts. Yikes! I know, right? But no one has ever done this before, so I was grateful for the opportunity to work on my own concentration instead of depending on someone else to distract me. I need more work, quite a bit actually, but it's a start. And I love finding my starting points.

Honestly, if I ever move to the Des Moines area, which is a possibility with my boyfriend's family being there... I could see this being my new "home studio," so I look forward to the checking out more classes/instructors on future visits. I promise to check out other studios in the area too, for all of us, but I was really happy with my visit at Shakti Yoga Shop.

Thank you Paula & classmates!

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