| Oct. 10, 2004
FITNESS: Gabba gabba ohm! Punk Rock Yoga hits the scene By REBECCA COOK
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) _ The guitarist plugs in his amp, and the yoga
instructor strips off her baggy skull-patterned boxers to reveal black
bike shorts.
They both warm up for the latest twist on an ancient practice: punk rock
yoga.
Power
yoga, baby yoga, kickboxing yoga, and now this. Has yoga fusion finally
gone too far? After all, yoga is a spiritual discipline aimed at
creating a sense of deep quiet and inner peace, while punk rock is all
about being undisciplined and LOUD.
It
makes sense to instructor Kimberlee Jensen.
"It's
the whole do-it-yourself ethic," said Jensen, 34. "Punk is democratic,
nonhierarchical - that's definitely the way I like to approach it."
Her
free, weekly classes are held at an all-ages nightclub and aimed at
teenagers and adults who wouldn't be caught dead in a health club.
"It
shouldn't be a thing that just skinny people do," Jensen said. "That's
not what yoga should be."
Jensen was inspired by the success of Punk Rock Aerobics, the brainchild
of two Boston women who turned classic punk moves into a real workout.
Blasting The Sex Pistols and Blondie works for aerobics, but Jensen knew
she would need something a little mellower.
The
live music in her classes doesn't sound anything like punk. It has
ranged from Arabic drumming to a saxophone and flute to the current
house band, solo electric guitarist Christopher Hydinger.
The
music is quiet and peaceful, flowing with the yoga poses - but still
"raw and organic" like punk, Jensen points out.
One
of her favorite music moments was when an acoustic guitar duo performed
easy-listening versions of punk classics such as "God Save the Queen."
The class and instructor broke out in giggles.
"A
lot of people who come probably would not respond to traditional Hindu
music," Jensen said. "That's probably heresy, I'm sure."
A
longtime fitness instructor, Jensen has practiced yoga for eight years
and began training as a teacher about a year ago. The punk yoga class
started last year to satisfy the community outreach requirement of her
training, but it was so popular she's kept it going. She teaches a
flowing Hatha style yoga.
She
eschews a fancy studio with mirrored walls for a dark, black-painted
nightclub. She banishes rows of yoga mats in favor of a circle arranged
around a plate of flickering votive candles. She knows plenty of serious
yoga people wouldn't approve of her methods, but it doesn't worry her.
"I
get new people in off the street every time," Jensen said. She
especially remembers one student who told her, "This is the first
physical thing I've done where I haven't felt made a fool of."
Jensen smiled. "That," she said, "is what yoga should be."
After
one recent class, students gave punk rock yoga good reviews.
"A
lot of yoga classes are really kind of wimpy," said Janelle Hartman, a
hard-core yoga devotee attending her first punk rock yoga class. "She
got us really heated up."
Erik
Englund, 28, has been attending Jensen's classes for about a year. He
said the nightclub setting intrigued him, and the health benefits and
relaxed atmosphere kept him coming back.
"This
felt very unpretentious," he said. His wife, Amy Wyland, 27, said she
likes how she feels after a session of punk rock yoga.
"I
feel really relaxed," Wyland said. "And I'm getting stronger." |
