Tuesdays are always a toss-up regarding yoga classes. There is no morning class that I can take in time for work and in the evening I have a choice of Ayurvedic Yoga at Stanyan (I’m confused on what it is), Anusara Yoga in Hayes Valley (on the gentle side), a level 2 class in the Castro (a little too much) and finally a Vinyasa in the mission (25 min away). My usual decision leads me to Hayes Valley, for old times sake. You see, Anusara was the first kind of yoga that I was hooked on and I had a teacher, Simmin Joy Holland, whom I loved practicing with. A series of events in Simmin’s and in my own life caused a change in my yoga as well. Simmin decided to leave the Bay Area for Santa Cruz at the same time that I was hired at a new job and moved to San Francisco. After my move I experimented with lots of yoga and found that there are other styles that work best for me.
Anusara is still an amazing system and has quickly become one of the fastest-growing schools of yoga in the world since its founding by John Friend in 1997, one of the great living yogis. This unique hatha yoga system blends an affirmative Tantric philosophy of celebration and acceptance with precise principles of alignment in order to create balance in the skeletal, muscular, and energetic systems of the body. Anusara (a-nu-sar-a), means “flowing with Grace,” “going with the flow,” “following your heart.” Classes also encourage you to connect with the community around you and to challenge yourself, always respecting your limitations. I do enjoy how these Tuesday nights often bring me back to my first yoga classes and I am endlessly thankful for Simmin’s encouragement and support during that time.
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