Yoga class

I love yoga. I have been doing it now off and on for 5 years. I first began by signing up for a class through Amarillo College. It was held at the Polk Street Methodist Church and when I went in for my first day I realized that, not reading the fine print, I had signed up for a 55 and older age group. A lot of the people did the poses in a chair. But, the teacher, who was an older woman herself let me stay and I learned a lot in that class. I loved those old people and I didn't mind their farts or their veiny wrinkley legs. Eventually, though it was time to go. Then I moved on to a group who predominately held classes at the Downtown Athletic Club. I loved that teacher, too and really learned a lot about proper alignment and the reasons for each pose. But then I began to feel like I needed a more advanced class because I had been going for a couple of years and these classes were still geared toward beginners. So I moved on to Terry Rudd who is a naturopathic doctor and teaches tai chi as well as yoga. I loved his classes the most. He had a way of working you out hard but leaving you energized instead of tired like you would think. I think I was in the best shape of my life when I was doing his style of yoga. But around that time in my life I started traveling with my job. I was so excited to be able to go to actual yoga studios instead of church meeting rooms or health clubs. I tried one studio after another, advanced classes, kundalini, hot yoga, ashtanga, ayurvedic and I never found a studio I liked in Albuquerque. Worcester, MA had a wonderful studio right down the street from me and that has probably been my favorite of any place I've gone. The teacher was very kind spirited and you had such a good feeling when you left there. I also went to a very well known yoga retreat center in the Berkshires while in that area and had a great time. It is so beautiful in that area.
So, on and on I'm searching for the perfect class but it's so hard to find. I just finished a one week trial at a yoga studio here in Austin. It is a style (Baron Baptiste's power yoga) I've liked in the past and it's a "hot yoga" class which means they heat the room anywhere from 90 to 100 degrees and it seems as if you can get more into your poses if you are well heated. I went to 4 classes in 7 days. Each class was harder and harder. Not because of the physical exercise but other factors. Such as: the person next to me ALWAYS has a cold and they sniff and clear their throat or get up to blow their nose a million time leaving tissues between my mat and theirs. There always has to be one loud person who breathes loud and grunts to show that he is achieving a higher level of enlightenment than the rest of us. There are always a few people but at least one person right next to me who doesn't know what personal space is - so maybe they are in front of me and when you lay down their feet are in my face or when you are kicking your leg up you have to dodge to not get kicked in the head (incidentally, I have had someone fall on me in Tacoma, Wa). The heat and the workout make a tiny room so stuffy and smelly. You never know from one pose to the next what you are going to be inhaling. Maybe you think that yoga is supposed to make you more open and forgiving of these little annoying traits that people bring to class. I say give me a Fellowship Hall with the Senior Citizens any day of the week because yoga studios are on my bad side today.