Grateful Dead Yoga and Me - Day 6

http://www.yjevents.com/sf/index.php

The Grateful Dead Yoga Hour
Friday, January 13 — 5:30pm - 7:00pm
Friday Evening Classes
Mixed Levels

2.9 Miles from my front door in Pacific Heights to Hyatt Regency on the Embarcadero

Can I do this? Walk down to the Embarcadero and take this class? Physically, yes, but psychologically/even spiritually, if you will, I am deeply resistant. I Love the Grateful Dead under its new incarnation, Furthur. Is it legal, 'right' for someone to be making his living off the creative efforts of others - in this case, The Grateful Dead. Is it 'right' for yoga to be so commercialized and more so daily? 'Right' or not, I have absolutely no control over this even as I remember fondly the old days of virtual yoga obscurity. Think I'll go though so as not to be NIMBY and threatened by change/progress.






I put on my Furthur tee shirt from New Years and headed out. One hour from my door to having my badge for the Grateful Dead Yoga Hour at 5:30. (I'd prepaid, although the room looked as if that might not have been necessary). And, as usual when I let my apprehension prejudge, the event was not as I expected. The teacher was not trading off The Dead. The music was not blow your eardrums loud. There were no strobe or special colored light effects.

What the class was was straight ahead yoga with respectful comments about Jerry and The Dead as well as comments emailed in from around the States about Dead memories. The teacher acknowledged my Furthur tee shirt and a couple in the class asked me which night I was there, and we compared notes about the New Years concert as well as Furthur's Monterey concert. This was heartfelt and fun.

Overall though, instead of exuberant energy - which I expected - the class felt a bit like a wake - which I didn't expect. It was about what wasn't any more, and that wonderful, joyful music was played so low and mellow it saddened me and made me once again in real time grateful for The Grateful Dead.



Fountain doing yoga asana as seen from the Hyatt Regency before Yoga Journal Conference Class.

Vaillancourt Fountain, San Francisco between Hyatt Regency and Ferry Building http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/3944480104/