Southtown Yoga Loft {Sponsored}

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Alamo City Moms Blog has recently partnered with San Antonio’s Southtown Yoga Loft.  One of our contributors brought her daughter to a children’s yoga class and another participated in a pre-natal yoga class. Sarah and Katie are sharing their experiences with our readers today!

Sarah

I had the opportunity to take my 4-year-old daughter to the Backpack Yoga class, which is part of the Kids Yoga Explorers series that is offered by Southtown Yoga Loft. I’m always a little nervous bringing a 4-year-old into a space that is usually quiet and peaceful. She’s not exactly the silent type! I was also interested in how the teacher would deal with the children. I’ve done a fair bit of yoga, and some teachers take themselves and the whole philosophy very seriously. I’ve taken many a class where it was hard for me to keep a straight face! I also wondered how my daughter would do with an hour-long class.

Southtown Yoga

I didn’t need to worry about anything. As soon as we got to the studio, the teacher, Miss Sonia, came over and introduced herself and made my daughter feel right at home. The first fifteen minutes of class were spent creating a “yoga tool box” that the kids could keep in their backpacks. The tool box is supposed to help them keep calm and focused. It was a wonderful attention activity, and it helped the kids get comfortable with one another. After the tool box activity, the kids all went to their mats to begin stretching.

Southtown Yoga
Making this tool box was a great way to start the class.

Miss Sonia is a perfect teacher for this kind of class. There were seven children ranging in ages from three to ten. As you can imagine, there was quite a bit of energy in the room. Miss Sonia was extremely patient, and she was great at getting the kids to focus when they got distracted. She never seemed to get frustrated at all, which is a big deal with kids. She made sure to give each of the children individual attention, and adapted easily to all the different personalities.

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My only complaint about this class is that it’s every two weeks and not every week! I would also love it if it was an hour earlier, but that’s just because I like to start early on Saturdays. If you have a chance to go see Miss Sonia work her magic, you should definitely do it. I’m thinking about taking my four oldest next time. It’s not often we can all participate in something like this together![hr]

Katie

I’ve been doing yoga at home for a few years but have never taken an actual yoga class, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from Southtown Yoga Loft.  I was excited for a prenatal yoga class but was also a little nervous I’d stand out as being an uncoordinated yoga amateur!  However, this class turned out to be just what I needed to relax and connect with my baby.

Donna, the instructor, made me feel welcomed and comfortable from the moment I entered the studio.  As we settled in with our mats and yoga blocks she asked about how we’d all been feeling and any trouble areas to target that day.  Even though this was my first yoga class I had no trouble keeping up with poses and transitions with Donna’s instructions.  During poses she walked around offering individual help, helping us adjust to make the most of each pose so I never felt like I was doing something “wrong”.   She also showed us modifications for the poses depending on how far into our pregnancy we were.   I found that with some minor adjustments I was able to hold some poses much longer and felt stronger than I usually do on my own at home.

On the practical side, I recommend taking your own yoga mat if you have one.  I had a DUH moment as I was driving to the class when my pretty purple mat at home crossed my mind for the very first time.  But if you don’t have your own mat, don’t let that stop you!  The studio is equipped with yoga mats, blocks, and everything else you’ll need for the class.  Also bring water for after the class.  I didn’t really miss it during the class but on my way home I was really thirsty.

The hour-long class was a great full body work out that was just physically challenging enough to leave me feeling strengthened and energized, but for me the physical aspect was just a bonus.  Coming to the end of my second trimester, I’ve become more focused on the physical aspects of being pregnant than the emotional side.  It’s so easy to forget how incredible this whole baby-growing experience truly is when I’m thinking about pinched nerves, an aching back, and swollen feet.   What made this prenatal yoga class so meaningful for me was the constant reminder that everything I do, my baby is a part of it.  Throughout the poses Donna reminded us to focus on our baby, so for a whole hour I focused solely on the tiny miracle growing inside me.  I felt so connected to this baby girl whom I’ve yet to meet and carried that feeling with me long after I left the studio.  My first yoga class with Southtown Yoga Loft was a wonderful experience and I look forward to doing it again!

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Southtown Yoga Loft, 724 S. Alamo Street, Suite 2, San Antonio, Texas 78205,  Tel: (210) 838-0643

Katie and Sarah were each given a complimentary yoga class, but all opinions are their own.

Are you a mama-to-be and interested in learning more about Southtown Yoga?  Join ACMB for a free pre-natal yoga class on Thursday, October 24th from 7:15 to 8:15pm.  We hope to see you there for a relaxing evening! Make sure to sign up here.

Learn more about Southtown Yoga Studio, find out the class schedule and more on their website and Facebook page.

 Namaste!

Alamo City Moms
Alamo City Moms is written by a collaborative and diverse group of mothers. We strive to provide moms with relevant, timely and fun information about all things mom here in the greater San Antonio area.