Local yoga studio offers dance-yoga hybrid for variety
ANNA RODRIGUEZ For the Red & Black
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Variety
- Page 1 of 1
Sometimes a girl just wants to dance, but sometimes a guy does too.
Jeremy Ayres, an Athens resident and yoga instructor at the YMCA, was looking for another creative outlet.
When: 7:15 p.m. Tuesdays
Where: Village Herb Shop at 1055 Gaines School Rd.
When: 5:15 p.m. Wednesdays
Where: Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution in Leathers Building at 675 Pulaski St.
Price: $3 to $5 donation
For more info: www.rubbersoulyoga.com
Ayres said he enjoys dancing downtown but didn't know where to find a similar experience in a non-club setting. He tried an African dance class but found it "consistently hard-driving" and not exactly what he was looking for.
Then he went to the yoga studio, Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution, and took a prana dance class, which is offered Tuesday and Wednesday nights at two locations.
Ayres said he enjoyed the dynamic nature of prana and the balance between aggressive and gentle movement.
"It's a hybrid between dance and yoga ... a blend between guidance and spontaneity," he said. "This class is great."
Maggie Minervini-Zick, who teaches prana at both Rubber Soul and Village Herb Shop, said prana, which means "breath," is a "moving meditation."
She said prana has an aerobic quality because participants dance continuously. Each week, the theme and rhythm of the class changes, but prana remains "a heart-centering practice," she said.
"It's a wonderful form of expression, a place where I feel alive and vibrant. It's that first breath that runs through all of us, a creative force," said Minervini-Zick. "It doesn't fit into any particular tradition."
To prepare, Minervini-Zick makes a playlist using different types of world music and some modern pop. She often structures the one-hour session around different elements in nature, such as earth and sky, and focuses on centering those elements within the body.
At Rubber Soul, she began class with breath work and warm-up exercises and then shifted to element-themed free form dance, using imagery to guide movement.
Minervini-Zick said her class is meant to be experienced as a wave "where you begin at a lower, slower pace and then work your way up to high intensity movement and then back down to stillness."
She emphasized both the creativity and accessibility of prana and said often there was "no right or wrong" to the movement produced in class.
Graduate student Katherine Ruiz started taking prana earlier this semester.
Ruiz said she enjoys it because it helps her become more aware of her body.
"It recharges me for the week. I feel like I just leave all my stress and my problems behind. It's really liberating," Ruiz said.
Attendance is on a drop-in basis, and no experience is necessary.
Jeremy Ayres, an Athens resident and yoga instructor at the YMCA, was looking for another creative outlet.
PRANA DANCE CLASSES
When: 7:15 p.m. Tuesdays
Where: Village Herb Shop at 1055 Gaines School Rd.
When: 5:15 p.m. Wednesdays
Where: Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution in Leathers Building at 675 Pulaski St.
Price: $3 to $5 donation
For more info: www.rubbersoulyoga.com
Ayres said he enjoys dancing downtown but didn't know where to find a similar experience in a non-club setting. He tried an African dance class but found it "consistently hard-driving" and not exactly what he was looking for.
Then he went to the yoga studio, Rubber Soul Yoga Revolution, and took a prana dance class, which is offered Tuesday and Wednesday nights at two locations.
Ayres said he enjoyed the dynamic nature of prana and the balance between aggressive and gentle movement.
"It's a hybrid between dance and yoga ... a blend between guidance and spontaneity," he said. "This class is great."
Maggie Minervini-Zick, who teaches prana at both Rubber Soul and Village Herb Shop, said prana, which means "breath," is a "moving meditation."
She said prana has an aerobic quality because participants dance continuously. Each week, the theme and rhythm of the class changes, but prana remains "a heart-centering practice," she said.
"It's a wonderful form of expression, a place where I feel alive and vibrant. It's that first breath that runs through all of us, a creative force," said Minervini-Zick. "It doesn't fit into any particular tradition."
To prepare, Minervini-Zick makes a playlist using different types of world music and some modern pop. She often structures the one-hour session around different elements in nature, such as earth and sky, and focuses on centering those elements within the body.
At Rubber Soul, she began class with breath work and warm-up exercises and then shifted to element-themed free form dance, using imagery to guide movement.
Minervini-Zick said her class is meant to be experienced as a wave "where you begin at a lower, slower pace and then work your way up to high intensity movement and then back down to stillness."
She emphasized both the creativity and accessibility of prana and said often there was "no right or wrong" to the movement produced in class.
Graduate student Katherine Ruiz started taking prana earlier this semester.
Ruiz said she enjoys it because it helps her become more aware of her body.
"It recharges me for the week. I feel like I just leave all my stress and my problems behind. It's really liberating," Ruiz said.
Attendance is on a drop-in basis, and no experience is necessary.
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