Yoga Fight Club
By Deb Radloff
Deb and Keith
The light in me bows down to the light in you, and says……”BRING IT!”
Yoga Fight Club with Keith Wittenstein every Monday evening 7-8p.m and Friday evening 6-7p.m at Om Factory 265 W. 37th St. 17th Floor, NY, NY
The first rule of yoga fight club…is that you don’t talk about yoga fight club…
Have you ever said to yourself, ” Well, I would take yoga, but I don’t think I’d be worked enough”. While those of us who practice know that yoga can definitely bring you an amazing physical work-out as well as a centering and spiritual practice, there are those who still view yoga as the always soft gentle relaxation that just can’t QUITE get their heart rate up enough.
WELL MY FRIENDS….Keith Wittenstein has brought the PAIN! Yoga fight club will leave you a mushy pile of goo after 1 hour. Class starts with 20 minutes of the recognizable asana vinyasa flow. But after that, as quickly as the techno music sets in, we are doing boxing drills, and interval training, alternating between uppercuts, jab-crosses, and side kicks. Just when I thought my muscles couldn’t take anymore, Keith swings in with another interval, and we are BACK IN ACTION!
There isn’t any chanting, no scripture reading, the yoga and the fight don’t ever really come together. I think that’s against the rules of yoga, or something. Though, It does get me thinking……One could talk about the fight within. Finding the ease in difficulty. Things to think about. It was a good time, and I encourage even the most skeptical of yogis to try it at least once!
After class, Keith and I (along with some other students) headed to the train, and I added my suggestions for incorporating the yoga. “You could always do a handstand into a scorpion kick, that would merge the yoga”. On and on went my brain thinking of all the asanas that could be modified and incorporated into kick-boxing!
So, Let’s hear it people: What yoga fight club moves do you want to see???? A little Crouching Warrior 15, Hidden Warrior 16.5 perhaps- find out, at the next Fight club.
Oh, and by the way, Om factory is having a recession special to new students: 10 classes in 10 days for only …..$10 DOLLARS!!! But it’s only for the month of May…So hurry up!