The "fusion" part of the class was that we did not simply perform static yoga poses, but did mini aerobic workouts by combining poses and movements with some amount of speed to them. For example, we went from downward-facing dog to plank (push-up position) and back. Owie. For the more challenging version, we went from child's pose to dog to plank to dog to child's pose again. My knees were really not happy with that particular combination.
The class went a little fast for me when it came to transitions and starting new postures or routines. She did not take a lot of time to explain the postures and poses, but assumed that we would catch on from watching. (The only one that she really took time to break down into pieces was the transition from child's pose to downward-facing dog.) On the other hand, once a routine had started, she would also release us to do the set of exercises at our own "breathing" pace. For example, we would reach and stretch, then collapse and hang from the waist in time with our own breathing, not on a count of four.
My favorite part of the evening was how strong my tree and wide-stance prayer poses felt. Not to invoke Priscilla in Conflict of Honors or anything, but I felt really settled and square in that set of poses, even while holding a pilates ball in my hands.
The instructor ended the class in a bit of a rush, so the meditation really wasn't much good. Also, she was being sweet and wonderful to everyone, and it was, personally, about as awful as it gets: she handed out hand-sewn eye pillows to anyone who wanted one for the meditation. They were lovingly stuffed with lavender that she had picked herself while visiting Washington state. Yes, thank you for ending a wonderful hour of working out with an allergy attack. I didn't want to disturb anyone else's meditations, so I simply politely declined her offer without any more comment than "No, thank you, I'll pass." And as soon as class was over I shot out the door. Now that I know this is her preference, I'll have to load up on allergy meds before class, which will destroy any chance of meditation, but will likely give me an energy boost during the exercise itself.
