Well – since I’m planning on going to Bikram in another city tomorrow (Dallas) I guess I should go ahead and write about the class that I took last week at the Bikram Yoga studio in Minneapolis, MN (brrrrrrrr). I haven’t been looking forward to writing about the class because it was one of my worst – I literally had to sit out the majority of the class because I felt so out of it. My arms were tingling, head was fuzzy. When I got up to leave I really had to be careful because I felt like I was going to pass out. After I had taken some time to recover I went and talked to the teacher to see if he had any insight into why my class was so challenging. He immediately asked “what did you eat for dinner last night..how much sleep have you been getting..are you drinking enough water”. At that point it was all very clear – I had slept roughly 4 hours each of the past two nights. I had eaten some pretty unhealthy food the night before (at a bar called “The Local” in Minneapolis – great Irish bar). And since I had been traveling I hadn’t been able to hydrate enough. All this added up to me deciding to be more committed to taking care of myself while I am on the road. It’s funny how this yoga makes you be more mindful of the rest of your activities.
So – about the studio. It is in a part of town called Midtown in a large building that contains other similarly alternative businesses (“Bodies by Pilates” was another occupant). When I entered the studio there was a little boy that reminded me of Quentin telling his father (I assumed) that the room was not hot enough. Sounds like a Q line. The mix of people was, as usual, very interesting. Little tiny 20 something women mixed in with super-hairy 50 something men. A motley crew to say the least. This was by the far the smallest room that I have ever taken in, making the 4:30 class that I chose to take seem especially large (though there were only about 20 of us). Despite my challenging session I really did enjoy the teacher (I’m pretty sure his name was Eric – which would make him one of the owners) – he was upbeat, informative, and had a nice pace. Though I left with a bit of empty feeling because of my lack of participation, I did enjoy the Minneapolis studio. If I find myself in the twin cities again I will certainly be back to improve on my past performance!
Some of you might know that for the past couple of months the Small family has been practicing a form of yoga known as Bikram Yoga – in case you haven’t heard of it, it is a series of 26 asanas (postures) that are done during a 90 minute session in a heated room. Maybe it is my age, or maybe I am just forgetting how hard things were back in my glory cross country and track years, but I honestly think Bikram presents the most challenging workout that I have ever encountered. Whitney is a rockstar – she just completed 31 days of yoga in 31 days – and our son Quentin frequently puts himself in half moon or tree pose. Anyway – given my travel schedule I have needed to figure out ways to practice while on the road. Luckily Bikram is a franchise that is rapidly growing across the country – and I work in some areas that have studios. So this week I am in Lombard, IL (suburb of Chicago), and there just so happens to be a studio in one of the neighboring suburbs (are really great town called Naperville – hardly a town though – in WNC it woudl be a major city). The Naperville Bikram studio is right in the heart of downtown, sitting on top of a Walgreens. Here are my notes for the 2 classes that I took (in the span of about 13 hours):
Class 1 – 6:30 PM: As soon as I walked in the room I broke a sweat. This caused me to have a flashback to a Bikram experience that I had in Pasadena, CA where I’m pretty sure I almost died from the heat. I did my best to adjust to the room, the heat, the people, and wound up having what I considered to be a pretty great class. The heat is amazing – the hotter it gets – the more flexible you get. If you can take it, you can get really deep into postures. I took a rough count of the number of people in the class – more than 50 – with a broad mix of men, women, experienced students, first timers, etc. A television camera was rolling for the first part of class – shooting something for the local news – so everyone was instructed to be on their best behavior. A guy got up and left the room in the middle of the standing series – I really don’t think the instructor noticed (he later returned). The instructors name was Bron – she had a boom microphone that allowed here to wander through the class. She was really good – great timing, enthusiastic, informative. Overall it was a pretty busy scene, but I was so challenged by the heat that I wasn’t really distracted. I didn’t really like the Breathe mat that I rented, but otherwise I thought the studio was great (tables for spraying off mats, hammocks for lounging, and posters for 31 day challengers to put up stickers marking their progress).
Class 2 – 6:00 AM: It was early but Brie (that morning’s instructor) was there to cheerfully greet me. The room wasn’t as hot as the night before, but it was still pretty warm. The class was smaller (about 15 people), but everyone in there was really into what they were doing, so I enjoyed being a part of that type of a class. The early classes are funny – I have only done 2 at that time – but it is a very businesslike environment. Brie was great – she actually went through training with Brenda (Whitney’s mom) last year – so it was interesting to compare how each of them do their dialogue/run the class.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the Naperville studio – I will be back!
Next week – I’m hoping to go to the studio in Minneapolis – I’ll post an entry if I get a chance to go…
Whitney and I had the pleasure of going to Napa, CA for our 5 year anniversary trip. Our days in the restaurant business had really peaked our interest – we just had to go straight to the source! The trip was short – but we packed in enough tastings, fun, and beautiful views to keep us satisfied (for a while). We went to the following vineyards during our trip:
Thursday, September 13th
- Hess Vineyards – Did the tour and joined the club – what amatuers! We really did enjoy seeing one of the vineyards that produces great wine (Hess Collection Chard, Cab, among others). We had always been Hess Select junkies – but it was really nice to get the good stuff. Larry was our guide – he had purple teeth!!
Friday, September 14th
Beringer Vineyards – After a brief morning stop at CIA/Greystone (I was in awe) we stopped by Beringer to start out our day. We chose to do the reserve tasting, and it was worth it. One of our favorite Chardonnay’s has always been Beringer Private Reserve. It just so happened to be on sale – so we made a purchase. We also got to taste 2 years worth of the Private Reserve cab and some other very fine wines. Very much worth the stop.
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Merryvale Vineyards – This was somewhat of a disappointment. The building looked like a warehouse – we entered through the side in an alley, walking by the back bay of a restaurant (not very appetizing). The guy working the counter was creepy and annoying. We did our tasting and got out of there very quickly.
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Whitehall Lane – One of my all time favorite Cab/Merlot. The facilities weren’t all that impressive, but the guy doing the tasting was interesting, and he hooked us up with more than just the tasting we had asked for. We bought some wine, and I thought about my friend Chris Harrington (I turned him on to this wine back in my Fuzion Cafe days).
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Frog’s Leap – We went off the beaten path in Rutherford and drove past Caymus/Cakebread – we were tempted, but felt somewhat intimidated. So we went to Frog’s Leap to find one of the most beautiful places in the Napa Valley. The house that hosts the tastings (reservation only – though they gave us a glass of Sauvigon Blanc just for showing up) is beautiful – Whit said that this would be her dream house. When you walk outiside you see grape vines forever, a bountiful garden, and in all directions the hills that grow the finer wines of the area. Just breathtaking. When we return (yes, we will be back) we will make it a priority to make a reservation for a tasting there.
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ZD Vineyards – I actually did a wine dinner one time that featured ZD wines @ Fuzion – great Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (my two favorites), so we stopped in for a bit. Nice facilities, good wine – we made a purchase and moved on.
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Franciscan – No biggie - we stopped in and did a tasting. Great tasting room (high ceilings, I think it looked kind of like a library) – we did the tasting and moved on. We did get a free glass though!
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Silverado – In the Silverado valley we hit Silverado, which is situated up on a hill overlooking the valley. Good wine, interesting people working there, and a beautiful view. We would recommend this one. Made a purchase and moved on – because at this point we were on a roll!!
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Stags Leap – Stags Leap is notable for many reasons. Number one – they make great wine. Number two – Nanette @ Fuzion used to gush over the Fay and Cask 23 releases. Number 3 – Whitney bought me a bottle of 1975 Stags Leap Cab for my 30th birthday (and it was delicious). We had a great tasting – lingered a bit on the beautiful grounds – made a purchase – and moved on.
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Clos du Val – Sensing that we were running out of time we started hitting wineries that we didn’t really want to hit. The manly woman working there was very unpleasant, but that didn’t stop us. We made a purchase just to show that we were good people.
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Chimney Rock – Last winery of the trip, so we had some fun taking pictures in the vineyard. We chose Chimney Rock because we hadn’t really heard of it/tasted their wine (and because they were still open – while others had shut down for the day). Inside it was a bar type atmosphere. People were begging/pleading for more pours, more flights – we just stood there and enjoyed the wine and reflected on a great day. We made our largest purchase – and got two free glasses to take with us because it was our anniversary.
As crazy as it sounds – we actually had time to eat lunch on Friday (Hurley’s in Yountville – Whitney loved it), and still made it out for a great dinner that evening (Bistro Jeanty in downtown Napa).
Tips
Ask questions
Split tastings
Drink Water and Eat
Don’t Set a Strict Schedule – the wineries you don’t get to will still be there when you go back!
Five years ago today Whitney Mitchell and Trey Small were married @ Jump Off Rock in Hendersoville NC. It was a perfect day that included a family gathering at the Galloway house and a rushed drive to Charlotte to start the honeymoon. The rest is history!
