做狗也不容易
上周六体验了一次hot yoga，就是字面意思，在一个很热的房间里做瑜伽。 起因是我朋友的朋友最近拿到了瑜伽教练的资格之类的东西，她就开始时不时教课，我们相当于是去捧场。
说到这个朋友，除了做瑜伽教练，她本职工作应该是程序员,业余还在打泰拳。此外因为喜欢抹茶，之前还租过一间餐厅做了一日快闪店，专门卖抹茶类的饮品和甜点。 当时我们去的时候她一个人负责点单收银和做饮料，同时还在跟大家social，随时摆出招牌加州亚裔笑容跟人合照。总之让我感觉能量很充足。
说回到瑜伽，我们一进店就让我想到最近在看的美剧broad city，主角之一的Abbi就在一间类似的充满愚蠢白人的健身房当清洁工， 日常工作是疏通被阴毛堵掉的淋浴房下水道（不褒不贬,剧里总是冷不丁地嘲弄这种氛围）。这个联想让我一直在憋笑，目光都不敢直视带我们四处参观的店员，最后他讲的我几乎都没听懂。
然后我就穿着拖鞋直接进了做瑜伽的房间，结果路过的一个女生很冷静地跟我说房间里不能穿鞋，我落荒而逃，朋友事后跟我说他在旁边憋笑。
总之课程开始，那天外面本来就已经很热了，但是房间里的空调温度更高，没过一会我的背心短裤就都被汗打湿了，冰毛巾擦了几次脸之后也不冰了。
我发现来上课的人都对瑜伽有一定了解，教练并没有示范每一个动作，只是说出一个姿势的名字，大家就都自动开始扭曲自己的身体。 我虽然在大学选修过瑜伽，但是姿势名字都忘得七七八八了，所以一直东张西望偷看大家跟着做。
我发现以狗命名的姿势有好多变体，双脚着地，单脚着地，悬空的一只脚还可以向左向右，突然觉得做狗也不容易。
其实我觉得做瑜伽的一大快乐是作弊。别的运动都要求更高更快更强，但是在瑜伽课上并不勉强。 有时候即使教练说了一个姿势，大家都在努力做，但是我是真做不来，或者太累了，到课程后半段甚至有点自暴自弃，总之就慢慢开始偷工减料， 有一种学生时代老师在上面讲课，我在下面偷吃零食的快乐。
不过的虽说如此，我觉得拉伸一下感觉还挺舒服的，心里盘算着以后每天早晨都应该先做一套瑜伽再去打工。
整堂课大概一个小时出头，先是基础的热身，然后是比较难的一套动作，教练带着大家左右各做了两遍，最后收尾又做了一遍简单的动作。 说实话我没觉得hot yoga相比于普通瑜伽有什么额外的好处，相反高温反而让我更难专心在动作上，估计hot yoga还是更适合高阶玩家。
差不多就这样，我觉得挺好玩的，不过应该也不会再来了哈哈。
Last Saturday, I tried hot yoga for the first time—literally yoga in a very hot room.
It all started because a friend of Leo recently got certified as a yoga instructor or something like that. She’s been teaching classes occasionally, and we basically went to show our support.
Speaking of this friend—besides teaching yoga, her main job is as a software engineer. On the side, she also practices Muay Thai. And because she loves matcha, she once rented out a restaurant for a day to run a pop-up shop selling matcha-based drinks and desserts. When we went, she was managing the whole thing solo: taking orders, making drinks, handling payment, and still had time to socialize—flashing that signature California Asian girl smile for selfies with customers. She gave off this boundless energy.
Back to the yoga class—when we entered the studio, I was instantly reminded of the show Broad City I have been watching recently. One of the main characters, Abbi, works at a similar gym full of clueless white people, d oing cleaning work like unclogging shower drains full of pubic hair (no judgment—that’s just how the show playfully roasts that whole vibe). That mental image kept making me want to laugh. I couldn’t look the staff member giving us a tour in the eye, and honestly barely understood a word he said.
Then, still wearing flip-flops, I walked straight into the yoga room—only for a passing girl to calmly inform me that no shoes were allowed inside. I fled in embarrassment. Leo later told me he was trying hard not to laugh from the sidelines.
Anyway, class started. It was already hot outside that day, but the temperature in the room was even higher. Within minutes, my tank top and shorts were soaked through with sweat. Even the cold towel I brought stopped feeling cold after a few swipes.
I noticed most of the people there already knew a thing or two about yoga. The instructor didn’t demonstrate each pose—instead, she’d call out the name, and everyone would instantly twist themselves into position. I took a yoga elective back in college, but I’d forgotten almost all the pose names, so I spent most of class sneakily glancing around to copy others.
I also realized there are a lot of variations on poses with “dog” in the name—both feet down, one foot down, one leg in the air going left, then right… being a dog isn’t easy either, apparently.
Honestly, one of the greatest pleasures of yoga is cheating. Most other sports are all about pushing yourself to go higher, faster, stronger. But in yoga class, no one really pressures you. Sometimes, even when the instructor announced a pose and everyone else tried to follow, I just couldn’t do it—or I was too tired. Toward the second half of class, I kind of gave up and started cutting corners. It felt a bit like secretly snacking in class while the teacher’s lecturing—a nostalgic little thrill.
That said, I have to admit, the stretching actually felt pretty good. I even started thinking maybe I should do a short yoga session every morning.
The whole class lasted just over an hour. It started with basic warm-ups, moved into a tougher sequence we did twice on each side, then ended with a simpler cooldown round. To be honest, I didn’t find hot yoga to be noticeably better than regular yoga. If anything, the high temperature made it harder for me to focus on the poses. I suspect hot yoga is more suited to the advanced crowd.
That’s about it. It was fun—but I probably won’t be going back, haha.