Today, after 30 minutes on the elliptical, and a one hour Zumba class, I rushed home, changed, and head over to meet my wife for a meditation class. She had mentioned her friend and Yoga instructor Jazell before, but I never paid much mind to it. As an instructor at 24 Hour Fitness, Retro Fitness, and Crunch Fitness, I have access to a lot of different, amazing Yoga instructors each and every day of the week. To me, it’s not logical to pay extra to go to another Yoga class when I have access to so many as part of my job. Good or not, the added cost could not be justified, unless it’s hot yoga which I don’t have access to at my gym.
This time she told me about a meditation class that the same instructor, Jazell was holding at the Santhigram Ayurveda center in Forest Hills. Meditation is something that I’m willing to try, so I gave it a go. The cost was $25 which you pay the owner at front desk, and I’m assuming that Jazell gets a cut of that. The class was held in the basement, away from all the hustle and bustle top side. We were a very intimate group, and that worked just fine for me.
Jazell perceived that I was somewhat uncomfortable, because I was. I don’t accustom to sitting on pillows or rugs. I explained to her how I was slipping on the rug, and how I felt vulnerable and unable to react if I need to. She smiled and came up with a solution, she offered me this chair that was used for folks who didn’t feel comfortable on the floor. My body is very tight, and I can’t sit as comfortably as some of the more flexible folks can. In addition to that, I just feel mentally uncomfortable as well.
We started with some breaths, and that was interesting. A cool breath, and then a heating breath which I’m sure I was doing wrong for most of the class. Then we moved on the chakras, and the sounds. We worked our way up from the bottom chakra, and went up. I’m not entirely sure if I knocked out, or if I hit some higher level of meditation, cause I am not “aware” of having heard anything about the middle ones. We jumped from the bottom, to the top one when I returned to consciousness. However, I did hear the constant humming of the music playing.
I told Jazell, I think I knocked out, she said, “Did you?” as she smiled. She said, even though you think you were gone, your mind absorbed it. I shrugged and said okay, “Did I snore?” Cause if I snored, I was out. Lol. This is something that I’ll definitely try again, it was interesting, and hopefully I’ll gain more and more from it.
If you’ve never done meditation, give it a go. She is at Forest Hills, every Thursday at 7pm. The cost for the hour is $25, and I think it’s worth a try. In this day and age, we spend so much time outside, that we rarely make the time to take a look inside. I’m trying to balance that out, for mental and physical benefit. More on that when you read my experience on Sensory Deprivation Floats!
Just a life long New Yorker sharing the journey through my lens. Please take note of a post’s date. The views I express here are subject to change and evolving as I grow and learn.
Nice to have you and your wife in class. I like the play by play of our class that day, and how honest and frank you are about your personal experience. Looking forward to seeing you in future.