Hong Kong
Sunday 11/27 found us at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel Spa,
taking a Mysore class from Alex Medin. The Landmark is a fancy
hotel, and the spa is gorgeous. Everything is modern, with warm wood
and bamboo. The class is expensive, around $30 US per person. For
$30, you get: a locker, as many thick, luxurious towels as you want,
showers with four (4) shower heads per stall, shampoo, conditioner,
soap, body lotion, hair dryers, bottled water, and the good, Manduka
mats to practice on.
The yoga room itself holds 15 mats comfortably. The floor is bamboo,
two walls are mirrors which are curtained off, the other two walls
are mostly windows. The spa is on the 5th floor. There are two
statues at the front of the room. The room was very serene, and warm
enough. Ken calls this studio (and spa) a “Yoga Palace.”
There were 13 of us in the Sunday practice, many of the participants
doing second or third series. Alex and one assistant, Margaritte,
gave many adjustments. Alex’s adjustments were both very strong and
very gentle, and he took us farther than we had ever gone in some
poses. He is very intuitive, and the practice flowed well.
After class, Alex gave us a 2006 yoga calendar that he had posed for,
of yoga in Hong Kong street settings. (We will give the calendar to
YIY when we return. It’s too good not to share.) He then invited us
to a ten minute talk and 40 minute demonstration of third series at
4:00 in the afternoon at an Indian restaurant, where he was unveiling
his new calendar. Of course we went. His practice is beautiful and
very controlled. It is just like his adjustments: strong and
gentle. I found myself holding my breath during some of his poses.
And the yoga community was very warm and welcoming.
We will be going back every day until we leave Hong Kong. We are
hooked on Alex’s adjustments.