New to Atlanta Pride this year and bound to draw some interest as part of the Community Health Expo is YoGaga, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 13, at 10 a.m. at the athletic fields at Piedmont Park.
It’s the brainchild of yoga instructor Neda Honarvar, who has started her own studio, Tough Love Yoga, in town. Earlier this year she decided she would like to bring her brand of yoga to more of an LGBT audience.
Honarvar and colleague Garrett Cockayne approached Pride earlier this season and the committee liked the idea.
I woke up before noon on a Saturday, rolled off my couch and changed into a sweatshirt and some old, baggy workout pants I found from years ago buried deep in my closet.
And then I drove through a few icy streets to Urban Body Studios on Ponce de Leon Place for a beginners’ yoga class. Urban Body, owned by Rad Slough, who is gay, is one of the top studios in the city. This was my first ever yoga class and the first time I’ve done anything physical like this in perhaps five years.
I’ve wanted to try yoga for several years now, especially after noting the dynamic work it seems to have done for Madonna’s body. And everyone who takes yoga says it has changed their life.