El Horno

In my quest to find the right type of yoga for me and the right teacher, this weekend I did a Vinyasa yoga class at El Horno - quite a well-known dance studio in Tirso de Molina just 10 minutes from where I live. To the right is the photo of the school's patio. I had been here years back for a sevillanas class, but hadn't returned since, despite being told that the not-unattractive actor Hugo Silva goes there for capoeira. From what I'd read on the school's website I was completely unprepared for what Vinyasa yoga was. We went through what must be the most gruelling work out I've done in years, a flowing sequence of demanding postures and stretches, with highly controlled breathing all done in a heated room (as you can imagine, blowing hot air into a room in Madrid in June makes it pretty damn hot). On this occasion, El Horno certainly lived up to its meaning, the oven. I was by far the least stong and flexible in the class but felt good that I managed to stick with it for the hour and a half duration of the lesson - in which we all sweated, unnattractively, and profusely, literally buckets. Initially I was a bit worried about fainting from the heat, but thankfully that didn't happen! The class was more than my current class, but it was longer and the instruction was definitely superior - I liked the fact that the teacher - instead of just doing his own yoga moves - actually walked round the room, instructing, overseeing, and on ocassion, scolding! I felt great after the class, though one day later I hurt in places I didn't know existed. I'm considering going back for more punishment and I'm wondering if this type of yoga has the mental benefits of hatha? But then when I think of the great muscle tone some of the other girls in the class had (regardless of their shape or size) a shallow something inside me says 'the mind will wait, work that body!'