I joined the Woburn Y over 6 years ago, and immediately started going to their morning yoga class on Thursday mornings. At the time I had Lenore, and loved her. I just did the yoga and left for the final relaxation pose, because I was off to work. Very silly looking back at that, but this is how I got into a regular yoga practice.
Upon retirement, I attended yoga at the Y at least 2 times a week and fell in love with Ruth who is a fantastic practitioner. I tried other instructors as well, and Marilyn at the Y is a close second to Ruth in terms of her expertise and depth of yoga training. The Y also has some other teachers who are not as good as these two.
Ruth is from Switzerland and goes to visit her daughters and grand children every summer for 6 weeks. For the last two summers, the Y has refused to rehire Ruth for her regular Wednesday and Friday morning classes. She has a regular following who were disappointed by this. I have filled out no less than 10 comment cards about this, 3 in the last 3 months. I decided yesterday that I needed to kick it up a level. At the front desk I asked to talk to the person responsible for hiring the yoga teachers. Lucky for me, maybe, the Executive Director was walking by at that moment and listened to my concerns. He took my email and we will see what happens. I don't want to leave the Y, because I like to support the community. However, I have to have a regular yoga practice and I now know the difference in instructors.
I belong to the Y primarily for the yoga. I am definitely in a minority given the size of their small studio dedicated to yoga and the size of their space dedicated to weight machines and cardio machines. I understand that they have to satisfy all of their constituents and that many people do not attend the yoga classes. Maybe I have gotten an incredible bargain by paying $40 a month for over 7 years and getting Ruth and Marilyn's expertise. It is possible to attend Ruth's classes at the Winchester Senior Center as a drop in or to attend her classes through Arlington Continuing Ed. I have thought about doing this but have resisted, because I want to go one place for my exercise.
Three weeks ago I researched yoga studios. Our local one in Lexington would cost me $14-$18 a session and after paying $40 a month that seems like a lot. In my research I found Black Crow in Arlington. I bought their 30 days for $30 deal and am attending whenever I can. I love the challenge on my body of this studio and all of their teachers; so far I have taken 4 classes. They have similar rates as our local Lexington Power Yoga studio. After my 30 days runs out, I may try Lexington's, as much yoga in a week as you can take for $20.
So I have gotten an incredible deal for 5 years at our local Y, and unless I can get the quality of Ruth or Marilyn in a morning yoga class, I may be paying triple that amount at Black Crow or Lexington Power Yoga. Yoga feeds my spirit, body and soul and $140 a month is worth it. This means that I will have to get my cardio by walking or biking. In the summer I do that outside anyway. The winters will be the difficult when the ice and snow prevent walking the bike path. Then I can go walk at the mall I guess.
We will see if anyone calls me back from the Y. I don't feel listened to so far having left 3 comment cards in 3 months with my call back number. I don't expect them to cater to my need for yoga if the rest of their constituents want other exercise programs. I will be taking care of myself though and intend to make sure my body, spirit and soul are kept healthy with a good yoga practice.
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