Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2012, Síða 20

Feeling suitably limber after my first lunchtime yoga
class at Harpa, I get up off the mat and wander over
to thank instructor Ingibjörg for the class.
“This was a simple smooth Hatha yoga class to suit ev-
eryone, so beginners could come,” she says. “It’s all about
yoga flow, the soft yoga flowing.”
She turns and looks me directly in the eyes and asks
sincerely, “Did you feel like it was a little flowing?”
Unsure of how to respond, I laugh nervously. “Ah ab-
solutely, I flowed!”
She looks at me for a moment, as if doubting my
commitment to the flow, before breaking into one of the
warmest smiles I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing.
“Yeah, you did! Woo-hooooo.”
Yoga with a side of happiness
The thirty or so attendees of this first lunchtime yoga
class ranged from mothers, to students, to kids, to people
who actually looked like they were on their lunch
break, one sporting jeans and another in a for-
mal looking work dress.
“We just want to do something dur-
ing these dark winter months to kind of
brighten up your spirit and make you
feel good about yourself,” says Anna
Margrét Björnsson, who has, along with
Ingibjörg, been the driving force behind
the lunchtime classes.
Given that the class was in Icelandic,
I confess to them I spent most of the time
craning my neck around to watch the girl
next to me and mimicking her position.
“Oh I wish I would have known. I’m so used to
teaching in English,” Ingibjörg says. “Next time we’ll ask
people to raise their hands if they’re English speakers,”
Anna adds.
From what I did understand, though, I mention I hadn’t
expected there to be such an emphasis on breathing.
“Yoga is not just an exercise, it’s so much more,” Ingib-
jörg tells me. “It’s really good for your mind too. That’s the
beauty of it.”
“That’s why after yoga, people usually feel so happy,
because they’ve been breathing so deeply,” she contin-
ues, matter-of-factly.
At this point Ingibjörg lowers her tone, almost as
though she’s confiding a secret to me. “And you know,
people have this kind of glow to them after class. I’ve al-
ways wanted to take a before and after picture, because
you can really tell the difference. It’s really beautiful.”
I look around the room, and it’s true. Most of the par-
ticipants are chatting jovially with one another. I’m not
sure whether they know each other either. They just seem
to have been in a damn good mood. I turn to admire the
gorgeous view across the turbulent water towards Esja’s
snow-covered peaks and realise I’m feeling pretty chipper
myself.
don’t even think about thinking!
I tell Ingibjörg I found the final five minutes of the class
particularly calming when participants were instructed to
lay on their backs, very still, to some pretty ambient music.
“It’s really important to let the body just relax after all the
exercises. And it really makes a difference. Just five
minutes of relaxation, it can really do wonders
for you, if you do it with awareness,” she
says.
‘Awareness. So you’re meant to be
thinking?’ I ask.
“Don’t even think about
that,” she replies with the air of a
kung fu master. “If you think about
thinking, you are just all over the
place. Our mind is so powerful,
there’s so much going on, many TV
channels. If you get thoughts, you
shouldn’t need to battle to let them go.
You should embrace them, welcome them,
all the thoughts, and then let them go.”
While admission to the classes is free, there are
donation tins from Unicef, which is putting the proceeds
towards helping the children of Syria.
Both Anna and Ingibjörg are delighted with the day’s
turnout. “We’re thinking of doing it every week now,”
Anna says. “If it goes as well as this, I think it’s perfect.
We’ll see how it goes.”
“I guess we’ll just go with the flow,” Ingibjörg adds.
20 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 18 — 2012YOGA
Stretching Out Your Lunch Break
Go with the flow at Harpa’s lunchtime yoga
“
People have this kind
of glow to them after class.
I’ve always wanted to take
a before and after picture,
because you can really tell
the difference.
„
Words
Thomas L. Moir
Photo
Alísa Kalyanova
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