Ara Yoga Shala
π arayogashala.com
π 19060 NE 29th Ave, Aventura, FL 33180
π 617-459-2414
π info@arayogashala.com
π± Instagram / Facebook
POWER FLOW
with Zoe Madera βΆ 1/11/2024
The studio was very quiet and calm and smelled wonderful. There was ample parking on the premises, which is an absolute bonus in a hectic city like Miami. The practitioners were quiet before class, which allowed me to drop deep into a pre-practice savasana.
Zoe led a fun class. We twisted and turned our way around the mat in a mandala power flow. There was a lot of core work and muscle strengthening built into the flow by pausing on certain poses and doing lifts, dips, and various add-ons, which made the practice far from the regular flow I'm used to. Zoe added her own flavour to all of the poses. She is a strong leader, and her class reflects this vibe.
The newness of her sequence kept me on my toes - it did not feel like it was similar to the regular flow of sequencing Iβm accustomed to. It kept me present in the motions instead of attempting to decipher where we were headed next. She has a very strong choreographical voice and pushed us through tons of powerful moves in a very short period of time.
However, there was something special about how she managed the resting periods throughout the practice. Instead of starting super slow and ending slowly, the rest periods were camouflaged inside active stretches throughout the practice, which gave us a nice breathing pause here and there between the intensity. She sprinkled restorative moments inside of the larger power flow.
The sequence focused on preparing us for a pose I have not been able to master: forearm stand. It was nice to work up to a pose I couldn't perform myself, though I feel as if the steps we took during the class led me closer to achieving it than I have ever been before.
Zoe had great control of the timing during each pose: neither side felt neglected. Both sides of my body felt perfectly balanced after practice. Even though we were preparing for forearm stand, it was not only those specific muscle groups that were focused on. All of my muscle groups were used and tended to. It was a gratifying full-body workout.
It was such a powerful class and solid sequence that even without heat, I sweat my butt off. I thoroughly enjoyed this studioβs option for a nonheated class. There seems to be a lack of nonheated classes in Miami, and I really enjoy the time I can give to the poses without the stress of extra sweat I did not have to work for.
