Yoga Sleuth found a gem on the Lower East Side on a beautiful Saturday afternoon: the appropriately named Yoga High. Liz, co-founder of Yoga High (with Mel Russo), informed me that the studio was restarting its two-hour level three class after a summer hiatus. She led me to the beautiful classroom, with its blue center wall, numerous plants and hardwood floors. Late summer sunlight made bright patches on the wood, and the inviting aroma of coffee from the café downstairs gave the room an extra lift. 

There were just eight of us, allowing Liz to call us all by our names throughout class (even the newbies). We began with our arms at the wall, opening our shoulders in preparation for the pose of the month, Pincha Mayurasana (forearm stand). Then we returned to our mats to practice Nadi Shodona, followed by an intense round of sun salutations (“Knees, Chest and Chin” alternated with Chaturanga, and was almost as vigorous). Liz’s teaching has a focus on the Bhandas, and we were very much aware of maintaining our locks as we flowed. Mention was also made of our Ida and Pingala Nadis, a topic not always broached in class and wonderful to hear more about. 

The pose of the month was returned to again and again, in various permutations and levels of difficulty. We practiced with one forearm on the mat and the other arm bent Chaturanga style, and one leg on the floor. One “lucky” student was chosen to demonstrate a variation with the crown of the head to the mat as well. Liz was incredibly aware of each student’s needs, and she seemed to be personally assisting someone every time I looked up while skillfully maintaining the flow and sequence of the class. She gave me special attention in my lizard pose (a challenging one for me), sitting on my back, pushing me to my edge and beyond.

Liz’s unofficial theme for the class was the idea of relaxing into each pose and accepting your practice exactly where it is. Even though this was a level three class with many inversions, we were invited to be true to ourselves and explore our own individual expressions at all times. The sequences are lengthy in this class; we did our upright pigeon on the right, first with a hand to our bent back foot and then with a strap around that ankle, our elbows pressing close to our ears. We didn’t return to do the other side for about 10 minutes, as there was half moon, side angle variations and twists to do first. 

 Savasana, accompanied by the music of Neil Young, was long and lovely, and then we returned to our Nadi Shodona practice. This time we tried it three ways. First, by closing each nostril manually with retention (as we did at the start of class); then, we lowered our hands to our knees and opened and closed our palms according to which nostril we were exhaling through. For our retention we closed our hands into gentle fists. Lastly, we used our minds only to direct our breath through the proper nostril. This meditative and instructive exercise closed the class on a blissful note. 
    
Classes are $18. Mats can be rented for $2.