Instructor Review: Jack Black as a Vancouver Yogi?
Okay, I know the title of this post is a bit alarming… Jack Black as a yogi? In Vancouver? Jack Black as a yogi, period, seems an odd enough thought, right?
So, okay…here’s where I’m coming from on this one.
This morning, Taya and I attended a class at Semperviva’s newest location — 4th Ave and Yew — and the class was instructed by Dan Lindsay. It was our first time taking a class from Dan and, truth be told, our first class in a while. We’ve both been so wrapped up in our lives, that yoga has sort slipped off of the regular schedule. But today we changed that and, now that I’m back in town for a while, we’re making the effort to get back into the yogi groove. Yet, today, as Taya and I limbered up, freeing our muscles from too many days without yoga and flowing with Dan’s very well planned class, I couldn’t help smiling for a completely different reason. Sure I felt free and happy to be in that moment, as one should be in any yoga class…but my mind was also drifting off somewhere else…to Jack Black.
I couldn’t help but thinking (and internally giggling a little at this thought) that Dan reminded me of Jack Black…if Jack Black were to become a yogi, that is! Dan’s hair is a bit lighter, he’s surely fitter, and he wasn’t cracking zany jokes…but the basic similarity in overall build, hair length and facial features were definitely there. More than anything though, it’s the voice that got me. As Dan expertly guided us through the hour’s many moves and flows, I really couldn’t stop thinking about how much his deep voice and strong articulations were so much like those of Jack Black (and reminiscent of Jack’s character meticulously instructing his students during “School of Rock.”) Yes…if Jack black were to go healthy, lighten his hair a bit, pull it back in a yogi-tail and strike a warrior pose, you’d be looking at Dan!
Believe me, I know. It’s more than a bit crazy of me to be thinking of Jack Black while doing yoga! But I’ve always been one to attach people’s voices and overall looks to celebrities. People are always reminding me of one celebrity or another. It’s sorta my thing. So, of course, this is all just my crazy opinion… You may not agree. So, you’ll have to attend one of Dan’s classes and decide!
Dan’s classes are a great blend of hatha stretches and flow with some yin stretches thrown in at the end. I felt very gradually limbered up and invigorated from the class! Jack Black references aside, I highly recommend attending one of Dan Lindsay’s classes! He’d probably make my Top 10 list of favorite instructors in Vancouver, in fact! So, go check out his class when you get a chance (and leave a comment below with YOUR thoughts on it)!
PS — You’ll note on Dan’s Semperviva bio that he is a very musical guy, having loved music his whole life, and going so far as to say “I always seem to have my own internal soundtrack playing in my mind as I move through life.” So is Jack Black. (And this comment actually sort of reminded me of Jack Black’s character as a soundtrack writer in “The Holiday”!) Maybe I’m not so crazy after all…?
