Way back in September, the first Fit Centre class I attended for this series was the standard yoga class, and therefore, I found it fitting to come full circle and close out a term’s worth of  reviews with a variant of the first class: fitness yoga.

Since that first yoga session, I have been to the same class a number of times, so this review won’t be based on my usual level of inexperience with the exercise. However, I am not quite well-versed enough in the nuances of yoga to give an in-depth explanation of the differences between the two classes — so I will be focusing on how they felt.

Going into fitness yoga, I assumed incorrectly that the class would be a more advanced yoga class because of its name. This was not the case — in fact, the opposite was true. Strangely, this class does not have a description on the Fit Centre web page, so there was no way for me — or anyone — to know what I was getting into by signing up.

The class is also only offered once a week on Wednesdays at 5:45 p.m., making it all the more mysterious. Having taken the class, however, I can say for certain there is nothing tricky or exceptionally difficult about it.

It turns out that this yoga class is focused on taking care of the body rather than challenging it. While I certainly worked some muscles, the class was much less strenuous than the standard yoga class, in my experience. Instead, it focused on stretching and relaxing a worn-down body.

In my opinion, the name of this class is misleading, as the session was almost better for beginners rather than advanced practitioners of yoga. The beginning of the class consisted of a pretty average warm-up, but this was followed by positions that emphasized stretching. The class then ended with what felt like an extended meditative period. In addition, there were many breaks in between sets of poses that gave the class a relaxing feel, overall.

In closing, I would say not to let the name of this class scare you, since it is very relaxing, and I left the class feeling de-stressed and loose.

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Jack Thompson / Sports & Health Editor

Graphic: Shamille Sarcauga