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We’ve been social distancing since March 17th, when pretty much everything started closing down. Namaslay® Studios, my first brick and mortar space, was mandated to close down, and despite the panic and what if’s swirling in my mind at the time, I knew that if I wanted to keep this business afloat, I would have to get creative and think outside the box.
So, despite years of putting off Zoom, I finally pulled it up and learned how to use it. Within a few days, we were offering online classes, and they were going well, but one thing we were struggling with was how to lead Hip Hop Yoga.
I found myself fielding questions about Hip Hop Yoga. Is it a dance class? Do I wear sneakers? How does it work?
It was just a vinyasa class but in studio, we had really cool, club-like lighting with a great hip hop playlist so it always felt like such an uplifting, fun class to teach and take. My personal struggle as one of the teachers who taught it and as a student who took the class, though, was not dancing to the playlist! Another student at the studio had mentioned to me they always felt a dance element would be cool.
So, after a really trying day of numerous Hip Hop Yoga questions coming in and my own panic and fear around this whole COVID situation, I went to the drawing board and tried to think of how I could incorporate a dance element, as the name does somewhat imply. I figured, it’s impossible to be in a bad mood when dancing to upbeat music. (Read about my love for Hip Hop here)
The result I came up with was a yoga meets hip hop class. It’s structured with a playlist that has a really upbeat hip hop song, alternating with a down tempo song that’s more appropriate for yoga. I teach very basic hip hop steps, so you’re either dancing or flowing throughout the whole class.
It’s something that makes me nervous, and I think - at least for me - that’s when I know I’m onto something really good. It’s something that excites me, and something I find myself thinking about in my spare time. I want to work on this class more and more to refine it a bit, but I’m definitely on the right track, and I’m so excited about it. It’s one of the more positive things to come out of this whole situation for me.
I’ve struggled off and on with a lot of anxiety and fear, and so having a creative outlet, and learning to challenge myself to fuse two things I really love - yoga and dancing - into a regular class, has been so inspiring.
This is a class for people who want to feel uplifted. Who want to move and groove and shake away the sorrows, the fears, the anxieties. It’s for people who don’t take themselves too seriously but who seriously love yoga and dance. If you’d like to give it a try, check it out below.