Tayoga Conversation with Andrew Huff (Tayoga Husband)

Below is the second of hopefully many Tayoga Conversations. This one takes place between me and my husband, Andrew. He is a great supporter of all my Tayoga shenanigans, but you will probably notice through this conversation that yoga is not his cup of tea. Enjoy!

Tayoga: How were you introduced to yoga and what has been your impression of the practice thus far?

A: I was introduced to yoga through the insistence (or is that persistence?) of my lovely wife, who is on the other side of this interview. Of course, you didn't ease me into anything, so my first class experience was vinyasa on the sand under the hot sun in Long Beach, and second experience was Aerial Yoga, which went about as well as you'd expect for a six foot three, 275# yoga novice... I guess that's fair since I didn't ease you into dating me in the first place, eh? While I can see the appeal of yoga in general, I haven't found anything that I particularly love. What I do like about what I've seen is the creativity and diversity in styles. On that front, being married to a yoga teacher has given me some opportunity to flex creative muscles and work on branding, graphic arts, music playlists, editing, and other general ideas to help out where I can. Hopefully, this has been helpful! I do like hearing that my ideas (when used) have gone over well with people that come to the classes. 

A: If you could do it all over again, what path would you have recommended I take to try to get me into yoga? 

Tayoga: I know…I didn't really ease you into yoga. One of the great mistakes of my life! And if I remember correctly, Aerial yoga was actually your first class and beach yoga followed next. If I could do it all over again, I would take you to a gentle yoga class or yoga 101 with a teacher that I knew. Sam Wiesner would have been the perfect teacher for your first class. It would have been a bit poetic as well since she was the teacher at my first yoga class. Alas, bad job by me all around. Maybe if I bat my eyelashes at you I can convince you to go to a gentle class with Sam one day in the future.

A: You're right, aerial yoga was first... so I was even more of a novice than I gave myself credit for, haha.

Tayoga: I realize you do not enjoy yoga while you are doing it but does your body feel any different afterwards? Do you think you could eventually enjoy it? What is your preferred form of exercise?

A: I wouldn't say I feel differently afterward - sweatier, sure, but neither generally better nor generally worse. I think the exercise I like to do (or maybe the less strong, "I don't mind doing") - seeing scenery via hiking or sports-related exercise - feeds more than just a physical exertion by engaging either my mind or competitive nature. As such, I'm unsure that yoga-related, or, more generally, any other "gym exercise," is really going to be enjoyable for me. 

A: Do you think yoga is something everyone would (or should) enjoy, or do you think there might be specific personality types that would be better suited for other styles of exercise than yoga? 

Tayoga: Ha! Thank you for being honest. I'm sure most people I have these conversations with will say that yoga makes them feel great. I want everyone to enjoy yoga as much as I do, but I realize it is not for everyone. There may be certain personality types that are drawn to the yoga practice, but I do not know what they are yet. Four years of practicing yoga may seem like a long time, but it is really just scratching the surface. One thing I know for certain is that a person has to have an open mind when it comes to yoga. If someone is determined to not like yoga, then they're probably never going to like it. However, if they can accept that yoga can work for any body type - flexible or not - then they can learn to tailor the practice to what they want and need. In my classes, I like to offer intentions. My favorite is simple: "feel good". I love this intention because it is the purest essence of why people come to yoga - wanting to feel good (physically, mentally, spiritually, etc). If yoga doesn't do that for someone, then I hope there is another form of exercise out there that does. 

Tayoga: Do you have any advice for beginners wanting to get into the Modesto Yoga scene? 

A: For people trying to get into it, I think yoga may be a good complement to cardio work or good replacement for weightlifting, without a stereotypical gym atmosphere. It may also be a fine thing for those looking to clear their minds of other stresses - work, job, or family - as, at least for me, you don't really have a lot of time to let your mind wander, lest you miss instructions. I'd probably advise those looking to get into it to try out a stand-alone program, rather than one offered by a gym, as a regular studio will probably have more diversity in class styles, teacher types, and will be better equipped to give you advice to get started. 

Tayoga: How did you wind up in Modesto?

A: I grew up in Modesto, left for college, brief stints in San Diego then San Francisco before winding up back in Modesto. I like the area as a great base of operations for any type of activity you'd want to do. Lots of folks say "there's nothing to do in Modesto," but I find it's actually difficult to keep up with everything going on around town, and somewhat often will have a situation where there are multiple things I'd like to do happening in a single day. And since I have friends all over the country now, I do enjoy that cost of living in Modesto affords me more opportunity to get out to visit others. 

Tayoga: What is your favorite Modesto spot?

I like a variety of spots for different activities (from Graceada for concert+picnicking to CR2 for pinball), but I'll cheat a little and pick "downtown" as my favorite Modesto spot. I end up downtown 4-6 times a week: Sometimes just for lunch at Brighter Side's back patio; sometimes for drinks after work with my favorite bartenders - Barry, Laurel, and Carlos; sometimes for dinner and a show with my wife +/- some friends; sometimes for music at Ralston's Goat; sometimes for Art Walk; sometimes to catch a film at the State. Whatever the reason was to go, I always enjoy my time while downtown, and hope that my patronage/presence helps grow the area into a bigger (i.e. extending further/adding diversity and density in types of establishments/events available), better (i.e. friendlier and more engaging) place. 

Tayoga: Thank you for sharing the many things there are to do around Modesto. You have taught me to love Modesto as much as you do and both of us want to see it thrive. Do you think the Modesto Yoga Community contributes to the betterment of Modesto overall?

A: I think the Modesto Yoga community has some quality people in it, both practicing and teaching. However, I feel like it wasn't really until you went through teacher training before I had any opportunity to meet those people. As such, while the yoga community is doing a fine job of bettering the health of those inside the yoga community, I think it could use a little more on the outreach front to connect with the community at large. I think you personally are off to a good start by partnering with Dragonfly Art for free lunchtime yoga (thereby helping get people through the doors at the art studio, as well as offering the larger Modesto community a low-cost introduction to yoga). 

Tayoga: Glad to hear you like my lunchtime yoga idea! I know you are always full of good ideas. Do you have any ideas for how the yoga community can further improve Modesto?

A: I think maybe to further increase visibility of both the community and those in the community, maybe a couple studios partner with area restaurants for quarterly "yoga mixer" events - wherein you provide a space for teachers to interact with other teachers, yoga practitioners, and other community members who may be interested in yoga, but have questions and don't know how to get started. This may be a great way to get Tayoga Conversations from website to real-life if you host as a moderator a short 15-20 minute Q&A or panel discussion as one of the main draws to the event. Maybe a demo of how to fix a few common problems with a specific pose could be your other draw. 

Another idea along those lines is to see if Erin Doran at The Century might be willing to host a big "all-studio" yoga event so the yoga community can meet others that they might not normally bump into during the course of their normal practice (this might be good to host around the same time as DoMo First Fridays or Art Walk). I guess this runs into a question...

A: Do you think there's a point where a yoga event becomes too big?

Tayoga: Thank you for sharing these ideas for expanding the Modesto Yoga community. I knew you would have some good ones. I love downtown Modesto, so partnering up with places downtown would be extremely exciting! Especially with Erin at The Century since that is where we got married! Regarding the size of events, I think it depends on the person. I can see some people not liking large events. I don't think I would mind them, but I have never experienced a large event so I cannot say for certain. I have seen these types of events posted on social media and thought it would be interesting to go. I'll have to go to one and get back to you on this :)

Tayoga: I know how busy you are, so thank you for always taking time for me. Your support means so much!