Stress

It's frustrating when other people hold the reins to my horse--other people who don't know how to ride. What I want to do is give my horse a gentle cluck and speed off, leaving the incompetents in the dust.

They say everyone has three jobs: their regular job, the upkeep of their home and the phone calls, paperwork and stress of trying to get other people to do their jobs (cable company, bank, etc.). Right now, the third on this list has blossomed into three more jobs so I'm having, you know, that kind of week.

So yoga class is important.

This expansive, upstairs room at the Pacific Asia Museum is where I practice yoga. It's lunch hour yoga, designed to return you to work refreshed, and without the stinky armpits. The class meets only once a week and it fills up, so get there early if you can. Just try not to stress about it.

*****

Camelot & Vine will be featured on Free Book Friday this upcoming week. If you'd like to win a free, signed, paperback copy of Camelot & Vine, here's the direct link. From October 12th to October 18th, all you have to do to enter is comment on the post.

I'm giving away 5 copies so it'll be a snap.

Pacific Means Peaceful

Once in a while when I tell you something I'm afraid I'll regret it, because there's such a thing as best kept secret.

Every Thursday, from 12:30-1:30, I take a yoga class at the Pacific Asia Museum, a place with a fascinating history. I like the class for many reasons, not least of which is the walk through the serene courtyard, with its Koi pond and stone lions. At the far end of the courtyard I ascend the stairs and enter a treetop room with huge windows and a high ceiling, where for one hour I practice gentle yoga with a small, quiet group.

At the Pacific Asia, which is a museum of culture and not a yoga studio, instructor Jill Zepezauer teaches a gentle, accessible form of Hatha yoga. Her style is perfect for beginners and older people (I'll acquiesce to being an older person when I'm ninety), and for folks like me making a comeback from an injury. If you're looking for power yoga, well no, not here. Jill's instructions are detailed and soft-spoken but don't be lulled; you don't want to miss the little jokes she tosses in now and then. "Okay, raise your arm," she sing-songs. "It doesn't matter which one. No, not that one."
The price is amazing. I won't even tell you, just look at the first link above. The only place you can get a cheaper yoga class around here is the South Pasadena Senior Center. And that's a decent class. It's just crowded.

I hope the Pacific Asia class will never be crowded. But best kept secrets can only be kept for so long.

Update: I found a free yoga class in Pasadena. It's every Sunday morning at Lululemon. They suggest you arrive early. I haven't tried it but it sounds like fun.