Monday, March 29, 2010

5 Things High WASPs Like About Yoga And 5 Things They Don't


Like
  • Class is apt to start on time
  • No one yells or speaks out of turn
  • The clothing is so dignified
  • It's a centuries old tradition
  • The brief moment of good will towards yourself and all mankind. Even the universe.

Dislike
  • Sweating
  • Grunting
  • Sweating
  • Having to let on that you are trying
  • Happy Baby pose*

Image:
Nola House Of Yoga

*It's the dignity thing. Why the toes?

38 Comments:

Blogger Vee said...

Hahaha, excellent. I will only do Happy Baby when no one is watching. (And even then I feel positively silly. But maybe that's the point?)

March 29, 2010 at 6:42 AM  
Blogger Miss Cavendish said...

Oy. I'm with you on the dignity element.

March 29, 2010 at 7:38 AM  
Blogger Amanda said...

Because happy babies grab their toes. Clearly.

March 29, 2010 at 7:43 AM  
Blogger mette said...

I have no experience of yoga. If I would get interested, I would like to have private lessons. In a group I can´t concentrate. I would be too busy watching the others. And then there is a part of me, who wants to do things with rapid results.

March 29, 2010 at 7:51 AM  
Blogger JMW said...

LOL!! Yes, Happy Baby Pose certainly doesn't place one in the best light, does it? By the end of a session, my favorite is Corpse Pose. Just let me be at that point. :)

March 29, 2010 at 8:00 AM  
Blogger LPC said...

I think my babies were too fat to grab their toes. They could reach their feet, just barely:)

March 29, 2010 at 8:16 AM  
Blogger Suburban Princess said...

We just need to remember while we are doing happy baby, so is everyone else and they cant see how dreadful we look!

March 29, 2010 at 8:21 AM  
Blogger the gardener's cottage said...

Happy baby because it feels sooooo goooood!

~janet

March 29, 2010 at 8:34 AM  
Blogger Karen Nathan said...

Ha! Wonderful post. I've only recently started doing yoga, and one of the things I really enjoy about it is that there is far less grunting and sweating then in an aerobics class. I really don't like perspiring....

March 29, 2010 at 8:39 AM  
Blogger Joyce Lau said...

Funny -- I've done yoga at several different places. Never did the happy baby. Never heard of the happy baby until 2 minutes ago.

That said, the downward dog is not a very respectable sounding position either.

I always got embarrassed when we had a particularly New Age-y teacher who wanted us to stick our tongues out or do some other strange thing.

Sigh. I have since fallen off the yoga and exercise wagon. I should get back on.

March 29, 2010 at 9:04 AM  
Blogger materfamilias said...

I am determined to take some yoga classes this summer. I've wanted to for ages, but am not prepared to give up my twice weekly Pilates classes and there's only so much schedule in the schedule. But other commitments ease off in the summer and I could even drag a mat outside and let the ocean noises mask the grunting noises -- win/win! And probably as close as I'll ever get to High Wasp!

March 29, 2010 at 9:12 AM  
Blogger hostess of the humble bungalow said...

Happy Baby because it is humbling and reminds us not to take ourselves so seriously...in Yoga no one should be watching you...it is a personal practice...eyes closed, looking inward, in the zen zone.
OHM.....

March 29, 2010 at 9:20 AM  
Blogger Poppy B. said...

What this WASP likes about yoga:

it's calming
it's non-competitive
it stretches out my tight places

What this WASP dislikes about yoga:

that God-awful calming new-age-music
I'm generally the worst yogini in the class
my tight places do not enjoy being stretched

I realize that yoga isn't a competition, but most yoga classes make me feel insanely ungainly and as stiff as the pre-oiled Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.

I know I'd get better if I stuck to it, but I never do. OK, entering shame spiral in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

March 29, 2010 at 10:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Stretching--oh, yes--but no, not yoga! This WASP (garden variety, I think, not high) prefers roller derby. I am one of perhaps three or four WASPs in my women's derby league. How do we recognize one another? After landing a legal hit, we apologize: BOOM--"Sorry about that!" We also wear tasteful knee socks. :-) Velma

March 29, 2010 at 10:41 AM  
Blogger Maureen@IslandRoar said...

I've been wanting to take Yoga. It's very big here. Had not heard of Happy Baby Pose. How funny is that!

March 29, 2010 at 1:28 PM  
Blogger QueenBeeSwain said...

ding ding ding- we have a winner- you hit it on the nose- happy baby just feels so prone and like I'm voilating myself, much less indirectly exposing myself to the whole class!

xoox

kHm

March 29, 2010 at 2:57 PM  
Blogger A Refocused Life said...

I don't do yoga, but I can relate to everything on your list from my pilates class.

March 29, 2010 at 3:27 PM  
Anonymous The Preppy Princess said...

Oh Miss Privilege, this is the best post we've read all day! Perhaps because we enjoy our yoga and even do it on the Wii sometimes (shameful, I know), we've loved it for years.

However. Despite the excellent point made by the Suburban Princess, we draw the line at Happy Baby.

Love this one!
tp

March 29, 2010 at 3:37 PM  
Blogger Faux Fuchsia said...

Where do WASP's stand on Pilates?

I have been looking at www.kappaprep.com the blog of a very cheery girl called Hopsy who loves Lily Pulitzer. Is Hopsy High WASP?

March 29, 2010 at 5:00 PM  
Blogger LPC said...

Hopsy is a self-described preppy, and a bright, talented one at that. Preppy is not the same thing as High WASP. One can be both, or just one, or, of course, neither. But I might say that some of the preppy aesthetic was derived from a few moments in High WASP history. So that's a nexus, along with a focus on manners. It's a longer discussion, but you have to fly to San Francisco, and stay at the St. Regis, where we can have dinner and some soothing drinks, and a long talk. Bring Mr. FF. San Francisco is fab:).

Oh, and High WASPs approve of Pilates. Stomach muscles are very important for good posture.

March 29, 2010 at 5:19 PM  
Blogger Sydney Shop Girl said...

I do have a touch of the High WASP in me, after all.

I love yoga :-)

SSG xxx

March 29, 2010 at 5:24 PM  
Blogger Mel said...

Ha! You got it right here--I'm more of a High WASP wannabe, but I do yoga and fully agree with everything you've said. Especially Happy Baby. So humiliating! But the result is just so worth it all, and that feeling of goodwill? Miraculous.

March 29, 2010 at 6:44 PM  
Blogger Marilyn *Pink Martinis and Pearls* said...

I only do that pose twice a year at a designated medical appointment. :) xoxo

March 29, 2010 at 8:46 PM  
Blogger elizabeth said...

How do High WASPs feel about exercise generally? I would have guessed that sweat went with the healthy, sturdy lifestyle -- skiing, hunting with the hounds, crew, sailing. But maybe not?

March 29, 2010 at 9:22 PM  
Blogger LPC said...

Ha! You guys crack me up. Elizabeth, well, yes, to all that outdoor activity. But one hopes for brisk weather to keep the sweat at bay. I wish there were an emoticon for tongue in cheek?

March 29, 2010 at 10:32 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

OK I would be cracking up during the happy baby pose. You don't want to bring me to class, cause I honestly can't keep quiet for a long amount of time... ;D

March 30, 2010 at 6:18 AM  
Blogger Patsy said...

I am a bad yogini. During the reflective moments, I'm making to-do lists in my head. ~sigh~

March 30, 2010 at 8:11 AM  
Blogger Duchesse said...

I prefer Happy Baby to partner yoga, which is deeply distasteful for me- having to grab someone's spiky ankles or sweaty paws, ugh.

March 30, 2010 at 10:03 AM  
Blogger Red Lipstick said...

I like and dislike the very same things! I have actually really injured myself doing yoga, but I no longer push my leg down with force when it will not go further on its own, haha!

March 30, 2010 at 11:52 AM  
Blogger Bumby Scott said...

LPC, Thank you for the Happy Baby Pose photo. Made me laugh out loud at that Public Lib.

Always Bumby

March 30, 2010 at 2:57 PM  
Anonymous iamronel said...

i have to try some yoga now so that i can relate on your blog post..lol anywayz nice blog btw :)

March 30, 2010 at 7:28 PM  
Blogger LenoreNeverM♡re said...

Happy Baby is better than crying baby!!
haha...seriously never heard that pose~
xo

March 30, 2010 at 8:25 PM  
Blogger elizabeth said...

The secret to avoiding the dread Happy Baby pose is to study with an older, more traditional teacher -- I'm pretty sure Happy Baby appears no where in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Just like chow mein is hard to find in China.

March 30, 2010 at 11:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ugh, happy baby. My husband is a lawyer & also owns several yoga studios. He l-o-v-e-s it. I prefer a long run.
Funny you should post about this, My Dr. suggested I add yoga to my routine. Something about If I bend now I won't break later. I was sitting there thinking "I'm 35" but then "I thought, OMG, I'm 35". Time to add yoga.

March 31, 2010 at 4:44 AM  
Blogger Buckeroomama said...

I only do selected yoga poses... so no grunting involved. Happy Baby looks absolutely cute and I bet that's one pose where both J and Z would happily join me on the floor, giggling all the way!

March 31, 2010 at 8:06 AM  
Blogger The Single Nester said...

Hmmm . . . clothing dignified? I have seen some pretty scary outfits in my yoga class.

April 1, 2010 at 2:35 PM  
Blogger Summer is a Verb said...

Hahaaa! I luuuv happy baby pose! It feels so good on my spine. Maybe they're all right and I AM self-centered since I care way more about how good it feels rather than how I may look! The proof is in the pudding as they say...XXOO

April 2, 2010 at 1:26 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Yoga is very beneficial for our health and we should do yoga everyday. If we start our day with yoga then we can stay fresh whole day and we can stay fit and healthy as well.
yoga clothing

June 14, 2010 at 8:22 PM  

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