how lucky we are… best vinyasa yoga around

San Francisco is blessed to have Stephanie Snyder for yoga

How lucky we are to be able to live in the San Francisco Bay Area and practice the most amazing Vinyasa Flow yoga around!

We have access to classes such as Stephanie Snyder at the Urban Flow Yoga. What a better way to end a Tuesday or Thursday evening, or savor a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.

As the warm yoga room fills with 80-100 people, and the music is playing loudly, you walk in to find yourself in an energetic scene before the class even begins. You find all of the same people there every class because they all know that the special secret to their lives is to attend this class regularly.

If you are one of the regulars you know before starting how you will feel when it's over. It is a given, as this class is a sure thing. You can even begin your experience before Stephanie arrives by lying on your mat, amidst the social chatter, with a towel on your face and feel as if a solo boat on the open sea letting the bliss that will follow enter you in that moment, as if time is irrelevant and it is already happening.

As the room settles down and we begin to chant, led by our fearless yoga teacher's strong yet enchanting voice, we truly feel our mind, body, heart and soul and know that we are in for a real treat. It is a treat we can't get enough of and keep coming back for more, rain or shine.

The power of the yogis and yoginis in the room is well worth the drive and parking situation on a Thursday evening in San Francisco at 6:15 pm to attend Stephanie's advanced class. Avid practioners come from the South Bay, East Bay and even Marin to this blending of heart, soul and sweat on the mat. And it is on the top of the list for places to take an out of town special family or friend visitor.

This is a place where you can find yourself doing your best yoga postures of your life, as your body transcends its typical stature, such as the best handstand of your life. It is a place to cure you if you are feeling tired, angry, sad, stressed, manic or just plain not in the mood for yoga—or anything for that matter. It is a place to go when you have a minor injury as the loving flow and heat in the room heals not only your soul, but your ailing body.

As you do your favorite yoga asanas in the perfect vinyasa sequences while listening to the perfect music playlists—which are nice and loud by the way—you can feel your body open up to places inside you that you love the most. Stephanie never forgets to remind us how perfect our yoga practice is no matter what we look like, because we are in this room and in this moment. She also reminds us with her compeling voice what parts of our yoga practice we emulate in our own lives, as she reminds us that there is never a need to hurry, it's all right, and everything is perfectly timed.

As this awesome practice draws to an end, the final savasana has the power to bring tears to your eyes when you feel the transforming spirit flowing through you. It truly is a place to count your blessings.

You leave the room and know that no matter what, everything will be alright....

If you are lucky you can attend this class four times a week.

"When I'm in this place in me and you're in that place in you, we are one."

Namaste.

© 2010 Yoga Robin^®