"Soul Power Yoga"

When I walked into Andres' class, I warned him, "you might see a lot of child's pose action".

Andres' class is called "Soul Power Yoga". I assumed it would be somewhat like my other power yoga classes. Turns out, I've got a lot to learn.

His class is partially a lecture, although rarely formally. He speaks authentic truth, words of love and forgiveness, inspiration and positivity, through each pose. I recall one of my favorite actions, in Warrior 1, when we took our love into our hearts, then pushed it away from us. There is something so powerful in that action. Infusing an action with meaning always lights me up, but I think, experimentally, when a human being reaches out and pulls out from their heart, it truly awakens something. Place one's hand on one's heart, then extend it out, palms face up- perhaps that is a gesture of giving in every culture, I wonder...

The class was surprisingly calm, and I learned that a lot of the soul power was in mindfulness. How Andres asked us to be fully integrated with our beings, mindful of the world around us. He spoke especially about age, and how yoga can begin to reverse the aging process, physically and psychologically. The poses flowed in and out, strongly vinyasa, and I was really appreciative of how I was able to fuse my intention to be loving, or aware, actively into asana.

I loved how there wasn't a rushed note in Andres' tone (nothing important is ever said quickly), and there was so much one-breath-one-movement type of flow. His devotion to Kirtan is contagious, and the singing magnificent. Andres mentioned that frequently people come to his class expecting one thing and leaving with the other....and much the same for me..