I promised myself that 2016 was going to be a year of exploration and I’m happy to report, I have been true to my word (thus far!). I heard that a clothing store not far from me was hosting a free PiYo class earlier this month and I just couldn’t resist! Little did I know I wouldn’t be able to walk right for three straight days! Thanks a lot PiYo!
When I heard that the clothing store SIX:02 was going to be hosting free PiYo classes I jumped at the chance to go! I mean, this didn’t seem like P90X and I did say I would try new stuff so…ya know I had to. Not only have I been wanting to try it, but SIX:02 has some dang cute clothes!
If a shirt or spandex pants just happened to show up in my gym bag when I returned home, surely my husband wouldn’t kill me for it, right? I signed up immediately after hearing about the event and was quickly filled with anxiety. I had no real clue what I was getting into. I knew it would be a mix of yoga and some kind of cardio-ish something or other. I invited my best gal-pal and hoped for the best.
As soon as we walked into the store, the PiYo instructor – Natalie from Fit With Nat – said, “PiYo is like yoga on steroids!” (with a pure happy smile on her face) what the heck did that even mean?! I tried to stay hopeful as I rolled out my yoga mat but my gal-pal and I were both a little worried about what was to come. Natalie called everyone into place, gave us a few instructions and nodded at the DJ to hit play!
As we started, the flow was very slow, nothing I wasn’t use to in my usual yoga classes. Natalie explained that we would be going through flows slowly at first so that we could see what she was doing, then we would repeat the flow as a quicker pace to get a better workout. Fast yoga? How fast could we really go?! (oh my child! don’t ask!)
Natalie had us bending, squatting, and downward-dogging just as fast as our little legs could move. Before I knew it I had sweat pouring from my forehead and dripping down my nose. We went up and down, variation after variation. My legs burned as if they were stuck in yoga hell, but it hurt so good!
Toward the end I finally found my rhythm and the DJ played the perfect music. I found myself rolling on my yoga mat in the last couple of sets and my legs were just shaking. I tried so hard to keep up with the class but my legs were literally spent. Natalie said we would feel very strong, but also very relaxed, and she was completely right. The final few minutes were very rhythmic and gave our hearts time to slow down. We finished up with a some stretching and relaxation. Overall this was an experience I totally want to have again. Now that I know a few of the standard PiYo moves, I think I could get by without so much confusion and get an even better workout. If you’d like to see more from my PiYo class, check out my PiYo vlog. I tried to get a few moves in there but my camera battery was low and I could record for long. It should give you an idea of what you can expect should you want to bend and shake one day.
