I actually can’t believe I only have five days left of this challenge. And really, very few times has it actually felt like a challenge to me… besides when my body decided to rebel against me… but lets forget about that sad, sad week. I visited my family in Massachusetts this weekend and started off Week 4 with some yoga back home.

Saturday I (very unhappily) woke up early to make my way over to Dancing Crow Yoga 15 minutes away from my parents’ house. The owners, Fay and Mid, were so welcoming and warm, which just made me even happier and more at ease walking into a new studio for the first time. The Vinyasa class I went to, led by Kate, was the perfect way to start a sunny Saturday. Plus I started learning a new pose — forearm balance — even if it did scare the crap out of me! (I am apparently not very happy when my feet are above my head.)

Sunday I checked out Balance Studio in Cohasset, MA on a recommendation from my best friend Annie. Even better? I somehow convinced Annie AND my mom to join me for a 9:30am class on a Sunday. The class was awesome, but the company was even better! Plus my mom liked it so much she bought a month of classes!

Monday, back in New York and very short on time, I made my way around the corner to the New York Health and Racquet Club for an Earth Flow class. Even though I felt a cold coming on, I enjoyed the class and felt very strong in nearly every pose!

Tuesday. Well, Tuesday was kind of… no, wait, make that really… amazing. Brette Popper of Yoga City NYC (she’s also an instructor at Yoga Union and I attended her class there last week) invited me to the studio to learn three of the poses on my “must conquer” list! I was so touched when she reached out to me, and it was definitely one of the best experiences of my challenge so far. We covered boat pose, crow, and headstand, and learning how all the poses are connected really, really transformed my practice. I clearly have a lot to say about this session, so if you’re interested, take a gander at my longer, much mushier, write-up about the session on our Tumblr page!

Wednesday was… meh. I went to a vinyasa class at NYHRC that I usually like, but after Tuesday’s amazing session, this one kind of fell flat. The highlight? I did get to work on some poses I learned Tuesday! Maybe next week will be better…

Thursday Kelli and I went to our favorite class, Warm Vinyasa with Steven Cheng at NYHRC! My body was so not cooperating with me (I think I pulled something in my neck?!), but it was a good class, and it was great to see Steven and talk to him about my challenge and experience at Yoga Union, where he also teaches two classes per week! (In NYC? You should check them out! There’s a community (pay-what-you-wish) class 7pm Wednesday and 2:30pm Saturday 2:30.)

Today will battle Tuesday for favorite class of the week! With the Greatist boys out of town and/or out of commission (feel better, Tao!), some of the Greatist girls (Jordan, Kelli, Shana, and Laura) joined me for a community class at Laughing Lotus yoga in Chelsea. Stay tuned Monday for a great write-up about the class!

GASP! I only have five classes left to plan! Here’s my schedule:

Saturday, February 25: Community Class at Yoga Agora in Astoria, 2-3pm

Sunday, February 26: Relax class at Strala Yoga with Tara Stiles, 4:30pm

Monday, February 27: Earth Flow at NYHRC 23rd St. 1:05-2:20pm

Tuesday, February 28: Warm Vinyasa with Steven Cheng @ NYHRC 23rd St. 7am (YIKES that’s early — challenge time!)

Wednesday, February 29: Antigravity Yoga at Om Factory, 12pm

And YAY! I get to cross some stuff off my list!

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Styles:

Iyengar

ISHTA

Bikram

Antigravity

Restorative

Ashtanga

Kirpalu

Caponyasa

Katonah

Yoga w/ Ropes (Hopefully at Yoga Union!)

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Poses:

Crow

Headstand

Full boat

Wheel

Full Lotus

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I’ll continue posting updates on Tumblr after each class and Tweeting every day (from @ksmorin with the hashtag #greatistchallenge)— so keep following along!