Saturday morning I took Basic Flow at Lotus House of Yoga, a new yoga studio in Omaha. The class description on their website reads:

Basic Flow
A class built for the beginners and brand new yogis! Learn the foundations of a healthy yoga practice that will energize the body and vitalize the mind.

The one thing they conveniently omitted from their website is that their classes are done in extremely warm rooms. I wasn’t prepared for how hot it was going to be.

How hot was it?

It was so hot, the thermostat in the hallway read 82 degrees — but the studio must have been in the triple digits.

It was so hot, my antiperspirant clumped into tiny white balls in my armpits, rendering itself ineffective.

It was so hot, my yoga mat felt like a Slip and Slide.

It was so hot, my eyelids were sweating.

It was so hot, my arm hair was frizzing.

Did I at least have a good workout? I don’t know. I was preoccupied with how hot I felt, worrying that I may pass out or — even worse — throw up. I had trouble keeping my balance because my hands and feet were slippery. I was concerned that the instructor would be grossed out by my slimy skin and foul body odor the two times she came over to adjust my positioning. Basically I was focusing on everything but being in the moment, which is one of the primary goals of yoga.

Thankfully, my body temperature began to return to normal during Savasana. I was not able to totally relax, but I did enjoy listening to the sounds of waves crashing and recalling a day I spent on Fire Island a couple of years ago when my feet were buried in the cool sand and a breeze filled my nostrils with the smell of salt water. Then I realized I was actually tasting the salt of my sweat as it dripped into my mouth.

Will I try another class at Lotus House of Yoga? Probably. I loved how clean and modern — yet simple — the studio looked and that they offered you a cup of cold cucumber-infused water before you left. And the owner, Mary Clare Sweet, with whom I spoke for a couple of minutes after the class, seems lovely. She even offered to email me with a list of guided meditation CDs that she recommends. But next time I attend a class I will be equipped with a towel (or two) and the knowledge that I am going to sweat my ass off.

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One of my goals for the summer to start practicing yoga regularly. Currently I do sun salutations and other pretzel-like poses… never. I have a couple of 10-year-old yoga DVDs gathering dust in my basement; I’m not disciplined enough to workout at home. I prefer working out with an instructor or trainer who can interact with me and adjust my posture or push me through my last set of reps. There’s also something to be said for making the commitment to getting dressed, starting your car and driving to the gym.

That’s why I’m currently in the market for a yoga studio in Omaha. I’ve been perusing the schedules at Lotus House of Yoga, One Tree Yoga, Omaha Yoga School and Omaha Yoga & Bodywork Center to see what classes look interesting. Although my schedule is pretty open (I only work out of the house three days a week), I’ve been having a hard time finding an appropriate level class at a time that is good for me. Plus, there are some classes that I refuse to take, like Bikram. I hate being sweaty.

Have any of my Omaha-based readers taken a class at any of the above-mentioned studios? I would love some recommendations. How about the rest of you? Where do you practice yoga?

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JB and I are signing up to share a personal trainer at the JCC because we both have wedding dresses to fit into. Our first session, a free one, is on Saturday. After that we’ll pay $250 each for 10 sessions. We decided to work out together not for the competition, as described in this New York Times article, but because it costs less for a pair to work out with a trainer than it does an individual and because we’ll be able to motivate each other to show up, especially when the temperature is hovering in the teens.

Last night Jamie and I attended our first Zumba class at the JCC. Zumba? What?

From the official Zumba website:

ZUMBA is a fusion of Latin and International music – dance themes that create a dynamic, exciting, effective fitness system! The routines feature aerobic/fitness interval training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body. Zumba utilizes the principles of fitness interval training and resistance training to maximize caloric output, fat burning and total body toning. It is a mixture of body sculpting movements with easy to follow dance steps.

I first heard about Zumba on a segment of the Today show back in October. It looked like fun. Ann Curry seemed to be enjoying herself.

Taking an aerobics class at the JCC is an interesting experience. There were girls as young as seven and women as old as 70 participating. But everyone gave it their all, even though we mostly looked like idiots trying to shimmy and shake our hips, and it was a pretty good cardio workout. By the end of the class, my thighs and my abs were a bit sore–proof that I actually worked them.

I’ve been pretty lazy when it comes to working out, but I’m going to try to go to Zumba weekly. Well, except for next Monday when I’ll be in NJ.

This morning, after our physical fitness evaluations at the JCC, J attempted to teach me how to play racquetball. He’s so into it he has his own racket, ball, glove and goggles. I had to borrow a racket and a pair of protective eye wear from the front desk. His were all sleek and Matrix-like, and my goggles were scratched and had a stretched-out elastic that went around my head. But that’s neither here nor there.

Sadly, I was not as interested in the sport as J would have liked. I would really like to meet the people who thought sticking a couple of people in a large white box with a ball whizzing past them was a good idea. Sorry, but I don’t like little rubber balls flying at my face — or any part of my body. The idea that I’m supposed to run around this box chasing balls that are bouncing off walls is absurd (and sounds kinda dirty, no?). I tried to get into it for J’s sake, I really did, but I was laughing too hard out of nerves and the absurdity of it all. He got annoyed by my apparent lack of trying, but I did the best I could. Some people are just not meant to do certain things. Me, I’m not meant to be a racquetball player, and I’m OK with that.