The beginning

This all began in the same way most things do, with exploring the area, finding something that looks interesting, and making inquiries. Since moving to St. John's from the UK in September of last year, I have seen various yoga studios in the area, yet have never ventured into them until now.  The Shatki yoga studio jumped out at me one evening while picking up my foster cats from the animal clinic.  What was it like inside, this dedicated studio set in the midst of a shopping area?  I decided to find out, luckily the website has lots of information and I was eager to see it.  After some emails I was off to meet Meagan, one of the owners and try out a class.

I have done yoga, on occasion at gyms in the UK, and continued  through my own practice while traveling.  The idea of a yoga studio has often appealed to me, and until now I have never had the chance to go inside one.  What are they like?  A whole place dedicated to Yoga?  My experience at a dedicated Yoga centre so far has been in a dusty village hall in Wales, so I am really not sure what to expect. I am not a yoga expert, and although I love the idea of spending time each day doing some form of relaxation/yoga practice I can honestly say I have not been doing it as much since moving to St. John’s. This leads to the conclusion that perhaps I need a place that will give me the focus, and space needed to learn more and continue in this path. 

This type of studio setting was new to me.  I needn’t have worried because on walking into the Shatki studio, the calming influence is there.  As someone who dislikes wearing shoes, I love the studio etiquette of removing them when you go in.  Meagan was very welcoming and I felt like I had been coming into the studio for years.  The studio itself is a peaceful space painted in calming green (It reminded me of when I visited the Australian parliament house and it was painted in eucalyptus green, due to the colour's calming effect, useful in government I think). I left feeling energized and peaceful and it was only my first try!  Meagan tells me how they infuse philosophy and relaxation into all their classes and teachings; this is not just a yoga class like ones I have been to in the past and I am looking forward to this with the studio.  

The challenge for me is: Can I keep up yoga practice inside and outside the studio and make this commitment?  This blog has been set up as a place for me to try out the Shatki Experiment – 4 classes a week for 3 months to see what it is like.  I will visit as many of the different types of classes as I can, continue with practice at home, and blog about this as I go.  What effect this will have on me, I will find out, and so will you if you happen to drop in on this blog from time to time.  I will aim to write something at least once a week, and hopefully more.

So the journey begins, my first class on this journey will be tomorrow afternoon and is Detox Flow. On the website, it says that this class aims to “assist the body in removing physical, mental and spiritual blockages”, I have never even heard of detox yoga before so this will be very interesting.