Moksha Yoga offers irresistible deal

‘Sweaty’ is not enough to describe my body’s outpour from a one hour session of Moksha Yoga’s affordable community class.

On Sundays from 3 to 4 p.m., Moksha Yoga offers a class priced at only five dollars. With towels and mats available for rent at two dollars each, this session is an inexpensive alternative to Wilfrid Laurier University’s Athletic Complex.

A great way to bring some warmth into our stiff winter bodies, the Waterloo studio left me ⎯ and 47 other participants ⎯ dripping within five minutes of entering the 41 degree practice room.

The class began with community members lying in savasana, or corpse pose. Participants lay silently on their backs, palms facing upward before the class officially began to let joiners trickle in.

Moving at a comfortable pace of practicing pranayama breathing before poses, participants exercised the usual yoga positions of cobra and downward dog intermittent with a series of standing poses such as tree pose, warrior one and warrior two.

Laurier Alumni and instructor Cat Edwards encouraged that whether you are seeking stress relief, flexibility or strength this class is for everyone. “It essentially systematically works through every major muscle group and all of your joints.”
While the routine is not overly challenging for people who have practiced yoga before, the heat adds an unexpected intensity to the workout.

Marsha Jaworski, another instructor at Moksha, suggested that new participants take the class at their own pace, “Just know that at any time you can stop, take some water and lay on your mat, relax, catch your breath, there’s never any pressure to keep in pace.”

Jaworski admitted to taking breaks herself if necessary, recommending a 60-minute session like the community class for beginners over 90-minute classes.

“There’s some days where if I’ve had too much coffee or not enough water, or not enough to eat, or eaten a big meal too close to the class time, I can feel dizzy. I just lie down on my mat and wait ‘til it passes and then rejoin the class.”

The class ended with another breathing exercise called kapalabhati that Edwards described as a cleansing breath and an ab exercise.

Beginners may find this class uncomfortable at first, but the routine becomes increasingly more comfortable as your heart rate, and even sweat rate adjusts.

Edwards encourages participants to arrive early to secure a spot in the class, on a previous Sunday Moksha had to turn participants away as early as 2:45p.m.

Although the studio, like the Laurier gym was crowded this past Sunday ⎯ reaching 48 of their 50 person capacity ⎯ unlike WLU’s athletic complex, the workout quality was not affected by the crowd of the room.

Moksha Yoga is located at 55 Erb Street East ⎯ approximately a fifteen-minute walk from Wilfrid Laurier University.