Have you ever been to one of those yoga classes where the instructor introduces ‘alternative’ poses? By ‘alternative‘ poses, I’m talking about those poses the average yogi never knew existed. The poses that when introduced interrupt the flow of the class as people struggle to contort into them. Usually the classes I go to are pretty cookie cutter, they follow a very similar flow, incorporate the same basic poses and adhere to a similar pace. The only ‘alternative’ parts about them are a few headstands, forearm stands and backbends sprinkled throughout.

Recently, I was in a class that I though would be similar to the others I attend regularly, but it ended up being chalk full of ‘alternative’ poses and flows. At first I was caught off guard and annoyed, but eventually I settled in and began to enjoy the class. That same afternoon I came across this video that got me thinking. How does one get to be this kind of master yogi? It is definitely not in the same classes that I have been attending. Do they go to special studios, work under famous yogi’s? Maybe the first steps to this yoga greatness are those ‘alternative’ classes that feel so unnatural to me?

I don’t have the answers, but I sure do love this video. Give me 15 years, thousands of ‘alternative’ yoga classes, and who knows maybe I’ll be the next Desert Yogi?!