Roaring Like a Lion on a Saturday Morning
Sep 24, 2011 · 2 minute read · CommentsyogaPittsburghaccordionSquirrel Hill
I woke up today eager to roar like a lion again on a Saturday morning. I hadn’t done that in a couple of months now.
[Lion's roar]
I am, of course, referring to the “lion’s breath” performed in yoga.
[Lion's breath]
Abby and I had not gone to the free Saturday morning “Yoga with Phyllis” sessions at the Squirrel Hill Library for a couple of months now, but we had scheduled it in for this morning, so we arrived at the library early enough to get our favorite spots and set up our mats (we learned the hard way the first time that space gets crowded quickly).
[Yoga mats in place]
The instructor, Phyllis Berkovitz, is great. She has a deep, soothing voice, a perpetual smile, and a twinkle in her eye. She is relaxed and funny, making everyone feel comfortable and happy. Phyllis has been teaching yoga here for three decades, and is a truly valuable contributor to the Squirrel Hill Library’s community programs.
If you are curious about yoga and don’t yet have a practice, check out her weekly Saturday morning class (or Tuesday evening class)!
Pittsburgh as small town
When attending this yoga class, we often unexpectedly run into people we know (from other contexts) . Today, for example, we ran into a woman from West Virginia (whose sister is here, and was also at class) whom Abby had borrowed an accordion (named “Bob”) for us to try out in case we wanted to buy it. (I have only begun playing the accordion and have logged maybe two or three hours of practice on “Bob” so far. More on my new musical hobby later.)
Addendum
By chance, today I saw this feel-good story about how an ex-convict is teaching yoga to help calm violence in Mexico’s prisons so I felt I should share it here.
