Miami–What Kind of Yoga?Miami.
In this town, even the mannequins have boob jobs.
What kind of yoga can you expect where opulence is mistaken for elegance? A mile of bronzed thigh atop a 5” stiletto; lots of mascara and highlights; tight, tight jeans. Little goatees. Flash and glitter. Reflecting pools, royal palms, sequestered cloth cabanas.
Here where beach culture and night life vie for dominance, are sun salutations a variant on sun worship? Is it all spray-on tans and tiny spandex shorts?
Yoga in some ways is the same wherever you go: the same poses, the same instructions—sometimes down to the exact metaphors (“open your feet like a book”).
But the flavor changes from city to city, and certainly from instructor to instructor. In Miami, where new money, hot bodies, and Latin beats pulse up and down Ocean Drive, what did I discover?
Ashtanga.
Ashtanga, the austere, physically rigorous, 6-day a week practice, imported from Mysore, India. This is the bedrock. And then, sprinkled on top, a few variations: a little vinyasa, a little power yoga, a few hot yoga classes, some Jivamukti (which, by the way, is an ashtanga variant).
When I was in Miami last week, I practiced at Miami Yoga Shala, Miami Life Center, The Standard hotel, and Synergy Center for Yoga and Healing Arts.
Coming up: a mini review of yoga in Miami. From a guided ashtanga class to a surprise didgeridoo chakra cleansing—stay tuned!
in Culture and Trends.
Great web site – my colleague from http://www.EthicalMarkets.com forwarded your article, “It’s not about the money” to me, and I really enjoyed it since I started an online TV show called, “The Power of Yin,” that tries to help women de-program their ideas about money through yoga. But then I clicked around your site, and laughed at the title, “Miami – What Kind of Yoga?” We are a very young yoga city so some classes are purely plastic puff like most of the mainstream culture here, but I’m glad you checked out Miami Life Center and Synergy. These are my two favorite studios with the least “affected” teachers/owners. I was a member at The Standard for two years and while they offer some really great classes, the hotel culture permeates and became annoying to me after a while. But anyone visiting Miami should check out their Frieday night H2Om classes. I write a lot about Miami’s yoga community on my blog, http://www.MiamiYogi.com. Would love to create a dialogue with you. I look forward to reading your reviews of our community!!
Next time you come to Miami, swing by the Green Monkey Tree House at 1815 Purdy Avenue. We have a great relationship with Miami Life Center and therefore do not offer Ashtanga… BUT, we have amazing instructors and an amazing line up of classes. We also do Beach Yoga with K-17! Let the Monkey Bar (our front desk) know that you are Danielle’s guest and enjoy a class on the Tree House (free).
more about Green Monkey…
Green Monkey is Miami’s first balanced living company offering people tools to find balance and a healthy life. Experience Green Monkey’s full schedule of diverse classes, private consultations, events, educational workshops and the latest in wellness retail at the Tree House locations. Explore the world of Green Monkey by logging onto http://www.greenmonkey.net.
And PS – totally noted when I moved here… even the mannequins have big boobs… haha – coming from New York, it made me laugh walking down the street.