Hoboken's Free Yoga Studio: Symposia Book Store

Do you think yoga is out of your price range? Or that it's too "slow" for you to see any fitness results? Well, I've heard all of these excuses—and more—from friends and family. I was one of the yoga-haters not too long ago.

That was until last year, when I met Katie Walsh, a newly certified yoga instructor. We became friends, and she got me hooked on yoga. I had taken classes before but couldn't see spending $15 or more per class, so I never stuck with it.

I still can't see spending so much, so I find ways around it. Last summer I started meeting Katie for classes in Union Square. I was soon heading to yoga in Pier A Park, Chelsea Piers, and other spots on either side of the Hudson. There was a bonus common denominator: all the classes were free.

Those were all vinyasa classes and I had been looking to try something new. Just last week, while strolling down Washington Street, I stopped by Symposia Book Store. Hanging on the door was a sign I simply couldn't ignore: "free hatha yoga classes on Tuesday nights."

Yoga in a bookstore. As a writer and bookworm, this sounded ideal. I took it as a signal from the yoga gods that it's time to branch out beyond vinyasa.

The sign advertised "beginner" classes, so I walked into Symposia on Tuesday evening thinking I would be just fine. There was just one other student, a first-time yogi named Radina Mihaleva, and "Goddess Shiva" promised to tailor the class towards her abilities.

After a few breathing and stretching exercises, we were suddenly doing some really difficult poses. It seemed like Goddess Shiva wanted to test my limits—and practically scare off  Radina—but maybe that was just my own ignorance. Maybe hatha is just a heck of a lot harder. (I checked with friends later: they thought it was just an advanced level class.)

Despite the unexpected level of difficulty, we had a good time. Goddess Shiva taught us the tenets of yoga, explaining the history behind the exercise of choice in her home country, India. She taught me something I had never heard:Yoga was developed because Indians could not sit still during meditation; because they were too fidgety.

Many people think they are too fidgety even for yoga. If you fall into this category, I beg you to reconsider it, especially with all the free yoga opportunities the summer brings. I've gotten to the point in my practice where I wake up craving a good yoga session, and can't fall asleep without a few late-night stretches. It took me a while to get there, but I am grateful to Katie for convincing me to stick with it.

The final free Hatha yoga session with Goddess Shiva is tonight, March 30th, at 7 p.m. Bring a yoga mat if you wish, but we were fine without them last week.

Side note: Yoga has opened the door to some incredible experiences. While traveling for work, Katie and I joined a four-hour retreat in the mountain village of Nikko, Japan. In Vancouver for the month of February, we felt more at home after joining Yyoga. The two weeks during the Olympics were free! A trip to Peru is in the works, where we plan to visit a studio near Machu Pichu. The studio is connected to a home for young girls, where we will be volunteering. You can't go wrong traveling with a fellow yogi, or meeting more along the way. I just learned that my friend's aunt is a yoga instructor in India. Can you guess where I'm heading next year?!