FITNESS
I’m no yogi. My exercise of choice is running. I’ve flirted with yoga, but never found ‘the one’. It’s all a bit too spiritual, a little too earnest, a touch too slow. And, in all honesty, the downward facing dog is the ultimate enemy of the stiff-hipped runner. But then things got fresh when I walked into the Good Vibes studio, in London, for the Friday night hip-hop yoga session.
Instructor/MC Hailey Jean Flee set the tone from the get-go, arriving in a Death Row Records crop top, and handing out gold chains for us to wear during the class. When it came to setting our intention, there was no talk of forgiveness or acceptance. Instead, she suggested dedicating our practice to having fun, getting playful and shrugging off self-consciousness. Hailey would be leading the class, but if at any point we felt the urge to break out of whatever pose we were in and break it down to the beats, we should totally go for it. The message: leave your inhibitions at the door, people. You wouldn’t see Snoop, Missy Elliott or Jay Z holding back; it was time to unleash our unshakable hip-hop self-confidence.