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Arts & Entertainment

Yoga Meets Jazz Hands at Hoboken's W Hotel

Devotion Yoga hosted 'Vino & Vinyasa: Burlesque Yoga at the W Hotel' on Monday night.

When Devotion Yoga hosted "Yoga Gaga" as part of its "Vino & Vinyasa" series of classes at the W Hoboken in January, it was such a hot commodity that the class filled up in record time. Doing yoga to tracks like Lady Gaga's Bad Romance and Pokerface: how could anyone refuse? So when the local studio announced the opportunity to practice burlesque yoga, I tried to get in on it as quickly as I could.

Despite my excitement, I would never consider myself a yoga enthusiast. While the idea of yoga interests me, I've only done it twice prior to going to that particular class on Monday evening. So as I entered the W Hoboken's Great Room 2 with my friend's lavender yoga mat in hand, it was safe to say I was pretty nervous. I've tried yoga, attempted a burlesque class and even gave pole dancing a shot, so the sensuality of this type of class didn't really faze me. But the idea of clearing my head and holding the tree pose or standing split made me nervous.

Most of the students already had their mats laid out when I arrived at the dimly lit room. Choreographer-turned-yoga instructor Serena Soffer was going to lead the class and teach us exactly what burlesque yoga is.

Soffer, who's danced on stages all over the world as well as served as the choreographer for the theatrical emo-punk band Panic! at the Disco, developed the burlesque yoga concept when she realized the similarities between music and breath.

"I just think that music moves you, and yoga is beautiful," Soffer said. "Movement and music reminded me of yoga and breath. I can embrace the two together."

Before we were to tap into our chakras, we started by writing a word that described something we wanted to let go that evening. Then, we meditated. As much as I am a fan of clearing my head of cluttered thoughts, it was a lot harder than I expected. I felt like Julia Roberts in "Eat, Pray, Love" when she realizes that after trying to meditate for a minute, she ends up filling her mind with more thoughts than releasing any of them. After failing at that aspect, music from "Burlesque"—the film with Cher and Christina Aguilera—filled the room and the movement began.

While the poses were pretty standard, Soffer spiced them up by telling us not only to let our breathing lead us but also the music. So as we rolled our shoulders or loosened up our spines, it was the rhythm of Aguilera's vocals that inspired the flow. As we got more and more into our zones, the clothes did start to come off—I had almost forgotten this was a burlesque class. But, because everyone was forewarned about this, I had dressed in multiple layers.  

As the hour progressed, it became more and more evident that this wasn't your typical yoga class. And even though the Downward-Facing Dog still made me lightheaded, I was surprised with how much I could actually do and that yoga wasn't all about the body contortion. While I entered this epiphany, the other students—most of them clearly more advanced than I am—also seemed to love this hybrid of dance and yoga.

"Sometimes I get too much into the alignment of yoga," said mediator and meditation instructor Leah Healy. "This gets you into the movement. That's the nice thing about this because you don't always get the music."

Donna Ferrara loved how she was able to let go of everything while still finding her center. "It's very freeing," the Hoboken yoga instructor said. "It was fun to just let go a little bit."

Aside from the night's mix of breathing, shimmies and jazz hands, the class's big surprise was the presence of a male student. While there were no restrictions on who could join the class, the mere mention of burlesque did make me think it was aimed at females. "I was very hesitant to go, but my wife said it was Vinyasa," said Robert Prajogi, who came along with his wife Liza and has done yoga before.

"I wasn't very comfortable with doing it," Prajogi continued. "I did some of the hip motions but not the jazz hands."

Whether you were into the jazz hands, hip swirls or Full Boat pose, burlesque yoga at the W Hoboken was an experience that leaves you relaxed and a little bit frisky at the same time. Since it was Soffer's first time teaching it, she was very pleased with its success. "It's a really cool experience, and I loved it," she said. "Tonight was a really special night for me. I felt so connected."

I couldn't agree more with Soffer. And if she ever decides to teach the class again, she might just have another new enthusiastic pupil.

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