The hectic rhythm of Buenos Aires can be enough to throw anyone off balance. Late nights, loud traffic, and slippery sidewalk tiles are just some of the culprits here that leave most of us looking for respite, a literal breath of fresh air.

Practising the Reverse Warrior pose. (Photo: Luján Agusti)

There are several spots about town to take a yoga class or indulge in a massage, but it can be difficult as an expat to feel a sense of inclusion or community there. Luckily, this has changed with the recent opening of the BA Life Centre located in in the heart of Barrio Norte.

Founded by two Canadian expats dedicated to healthy living, the BA Life Centre aims to establish an inclusive community based on well-being while providing a full range of services, from yoga and Pilates classes to massage therapy and nutritional coaching.

Dina Samelis and Jennifer Klueppel are trained professionals in their respective fields; Dina received her first yoga instructor certification in Baja, Mexico at the Yandara Institute. She is currently completing her second yoga certification and working toward her Anusara Inspired status. Jennifer is a certified massage therapist who is currently finishing up a nutrition course. Both women are dedicated to continuing their education and formation in their respective fields of expertise, and are enthusiastic about transmitting their knowledge to their clients. The centre offers a variety of yoga classes – hatha, vinyasa and power – taught by six certified expat instructors. Jennifer provides therapeutic massages, as well as Swedish, relaxation and even prenatal massage care. Dina also practises reiki healing therapy and Thai massage. Pilates will be fully incorporated from February.

Buenos Aires is a city that makes it difficult to find a moment of quiet solace. Luckily, the centre’s location – facing the inside of the city block rather than the street front – provides a welcome respite from the buzz of activity below. The studio space is bright and cheery, with colour-blocked walls and an airy feel. Its central location makes it easy to get to, whether you’re closer to downtown or up in Palermo. A plus is the absence of tall buildings in the vicinity, as the studio is flooded with natural light and more than just a slice of blue sky. The massage room is as private and enticing as any hotel spa, and the yoga space is welcoming and open. Clients enjoy complimentary use of high-quality yoga mats and towels during class, something not available at most yoga studios here. Mats, water bottles and other imported goodies can be purchased at reasonable prices as well.

Massages are just one of the many services offered at the BA Life Centre. (Photo: Luján Agusti)

Classes are available six days a week, twice a day Monday-Thursday and once on Fridays and Saturdays. Plans for 2012 include expanding the schedule and adding “karma” yoga classes where students pay what they can in form of a donation. Commitment is flexible; clients can sign up for monthly yoga packages or just drop-in for a single class. More plans for the New Year include weekly health lunches and a variety of workshops. They also hope to add acupuncture to their list of services.

But sometimes a yoga class or a massage isn’t enough to regain balance. The endless piles of steak, oodles of dulce de leche-laden pastries, and heaps of pasta so common in BA will leave most anyone looking for some form of detox. Jennifer provides nutritional and lifestyle coaching, such as diet plans, recipes, and consultations, to help clients feel good both inside and out.

Even just one visit to the BA Life Centre is enough to make you feel more centered, more “zen”. Dina and Jennifer are dedicated to living out their beliefs every day and hope to inspire those who pass through their doors. In a city where it’s easy to cultivate more than a few vices, it’s reassuring – and refreshing – to know that the BA Life Centre celebrates health and balance.

More than just a place to practise yoga or work out a kink in your back, the BA Life Centre encourages community and friendship among its clients. Its integral approach to wellbeing – both physical and mental – is conducive to the formation of relationships that go beyond sharing a mat or crossing paths in the elevator. As Dina says: “all of our services complement each other. We are offering a safe space for growth where people can connect with themselves and others. We are building a community where like minded people can meet one another” and interact.

Ritmos Latinos class in Plaza Rosedal (Photo: Lili Kocsis)

This Saturday I took the plunge and did some exercise. I ground down to the floor, I shook my bum, and I sung out loud to ‘Mambo Number Five’; contrary to popular belief, exercise can be fun.

Every weekend, the Plaza Rosedal in Palermo parks hosts two days of yoga, pilates and Ritmos Latinos (Latin Rhythms) completely free of charge. Funded by the City Government of Buenos Aires, the project started 11 years ago as a way of encouraging porteños to get healthy.

The best part about it? Anyone can get involved.

Partakers range from the ages of six to ninety, forming rows upon rows of eager Argentines taking advantage of the free classes. This is not a sight to be missed: heart-warming as it is heart pumping, Latin beats pound the air whilst enthusiastic dance teachers maintain an amusingly steamy routine.

“This project is fabulous, it’s like nothing else!” Susanna Sosa, government yoga teacher, tells the Indy. “The main idea is interaction, and to get people moving rather than just sitting around.”

An especially talented dancer (Photo: Lili Kocsis)

The project really is fabulous; it is impossible not to smile. You get caught up in the buzz in a second, and it only gets more fun as you observe the different characters; watching an 80-year-old man roll his belly and then grind down to the floor, fully synchronised with a 10-year-old five rows behind, is adorable.

Aside from the positive atmosphere, it’s also a pretty intense work out—there’s no down time in Ritmos Latinos. The group expands as more people notice and get involved, the beats get louder, and talented kids volunteer to dance alongside the teachers in the front.

Among the palm trees and glistening lake, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon.

But there’s no pressure to join in: if you are feeling a bit lazy and want to just sit and watch, there are plenty of people doing just that – eating choripan with a cloud of parilla smoke billowing from behind.

With the weather as it is, sunny with cool breezes, it couldn’t be a more ideal time to head down and participate (or just sit and smile).

Alexandra Garretón getting back into the Bikram stretch (Photo: Melissa Riggall)

Two years ago in Seattle, I had a three month love-affair with Bikram Yoga – then I ran out of money. Since then my life has become considerably less healthy – I’m not exactly in peak physical condition after so many smoky boliches, dancing the night away, and watching the sun come up on the ride home. Not to mention the innumerable choripans…

I decided to return to Bikram Yoga to give me some more stability – both physically and in my general life. It felt amazing and awful to step back into that sweltering room and sweat like there is no tomorrow.

Bikram Yoga is a 90 minutes series of 26 postures plus two breathing exercises – all performed in a hot room, exactly 42 degrees hot. The space is lined with mirrors and most participants are as undressed as prudently possible. Even I exposed the soft and dimply parts of my body, in tiny shorts and a sports bra, to stay cool.

The good news is: I had no time to be self-conscious. It was an hour and a half challenge to control my breathing and to bend that way. The sheer effort and focus required to follow the instructor’s directions quickly dissipated my nerves and I resigned to the torrents of sweat sliding off of me.

Jay Fairbank, from the US, co-owns Bikram Yoga Buenos Aires with his Chilean wife Carla Cristofori. They began practising Bikram in Texas in 2002, and were hooked right away.

Always athletic, Fairbank had conquered and become bored with many other forms of exercise before he found Bikram. He says he knew right away that it was the type of exercise he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Within six months he decided to become an instructor, and moved to Los Angeles for the nine-week training programme taught by creator Bikram Choudhury.

In 2009, they opened the first and only Bikram studio in Argentina – right off of Parque Las Heras in Buenos Aires. Fairbank said it started slower than he expected but class sizes have grown exponentially over time – with over two thousand visits in March.

“It’s been fun. It’s been hell. If it was easy, there would not be the value. And I think that goes with your practice also – if Bikram Yoga was easy you would not value it.”

The classes are for all levels of Bikram Yogis, but that doesn’t mean it is painless for beginners. With the overwhelming combination of heat and physical exertion, Fairbank explained that just one class is “not enough to really understand what is going on”.

First timers promotion is seven consecutive days for $65, the price of one walk-in class. They encourage people to go to everyday that first week to familiarize themselves with the series.

As Fairbank says, “Come with an open mind. No expectations. Just come.”

Bikram breathing (Photo: Melissa Riggall)

My first class in over two years was as brutal as it was enlightening. I was forced to realise how little control I have over my muscles, as some positions that had been easy, challenged my strength and flexibility again. When I started to panic about the heat, I had to look back on the peace of mind I used to have.

Fairbank became emotional when discussing how much people gain from Bikram. “I still don’t believe it,” he reflected, “Just by going in here for an hour and a half, and working out, people don’t realise, it’s so physical, but something happens in your metaphysical.”

The idea is that you push yourself farther than you think you can – challenge your body to override your mind’s limitations. At the end of the session, as they turn off the lights, and I lay on my mat soaked with sweat and fully exhausted, the most surprising sensation came over me. Gratitude. From myself to my body for taking on the challenge and doing something so good. This is the feeling that will propel me back tomorrow – regardless of how sore I’m going to be.

Overdone it during the holidays? Feeling the need to kick-start the new year back to health, but the heat making you reluctant to go for a run or do anything too strenuous? Why not make yoga one of your new years resolutions… and if your Spanish is not feeling up to it, fear not! There are many English-language classes available throughout Buenos Aires – and Argentina – as Helen Morgan discovers.

1. Kathryn Trigg, Abasto

Offering private one-to-one or group classes, Kathryn Trigg provides either intensive or gentle yoga classes, each one tailored to suit the needs of the student. With the choice of visiting her beautiful tranquil studio in the surrounding area of Abasto or having a lesson from the comfort of your own home, Kathryns’ classes are accessible for everyone no matter how packed your schedule may be. Having taught for the last three years, Kathryn provides in depth instructions and impressively describes the postures in minute detail: which muscles should be being used and how. With a background in the Alexander technique Kathryn understands how the body should be used and this helps to explain certain poses. Her classes are among the best in the city and leave you feeling refreshed, as well as thoroughly worked out. Highly recommended.

Class lengths, times and prices vary. For more information click here.

Yoga instruction – courtesy of Lotus Flower Massage Therapy and Yoga

2.  Lotus Flower Massage Therapy and Yoga, Palermo

Currently located in the tranquil studio space above Natural Deli in Las Cañitas, Karen Steele offers classes in both energetic styles or a more relaxing workout depending on the desires of the students. Mixing long and short poses, instruction and demonstration, Karens’ classes are thorough and well taught, using props and mats available and when needed. Also offering restorative yoga, Karen has a long and in depth history of teaching, having trained previously in Thailand. With the aim of creating a community within the space, as well as hoping to help Argentine students practise their English, Karens’ classes reflect the holistic essence at the heart of yoga practises. Also trained in massage and reiki, Karen offers both treatments, perfect after a long and chaotic day in the city.

For more information, click here.

3. Buena Onda Yoga, various locations throughout Buenos Aires, including San Telmo and Chacarita.

With three different teachers and three different styles, Buena Onda Yoga has something for everyone. The lessons cater to different tastes with each instructor approaching yoga from a different background. Offering classes in four different neighbourhoods and a wide-ranging schedule, Buena Onda Yoga lessons are easy for anyone to get to. On top of their thorough classes and versatiles schedules, Buena Onda Yoga also offer a special event every six weeks. As a wholesome alternative to the renowned Buenos Aires nightlife, ‘Moonlight Yoga’ is a night-time yoga class with a difference: in a calming studio in Chacarita, accompanied by serene music played by musicians and surrounded by the fragrance of the roses left beside each yoga mat, the intensive class is energising as opposed to exhausting. Healthy and delicious vegetarian food is prepared and laid out in the beautiful dining area downstairs as soon as the class is over, giving the students a chance to sit down and relax and meet each other before heading home feeling like new again. Not to be missed.

For more information, click here.  

courtesy of Patagonia Yoga

4. Patagonia Yoga, Bariloche

If you’re thinking of escaping the city during the sweltering summer months, take a break in the south with Caroline McCann’s yoga retreats. Run out of an estancia, hotels and a lake-side studio in Bariloche, Caroline’s classes promise to be a wonderful retreat for yoga lovers across Argentina. With the opportunity to take part in excursions such as trekking and horse back riding in the summer and skiing in the winter, the yoga retreats can be taken alone or as part of a bigger package. The classes are tailor-made to suit the needs of the long-term visitors and temporary travellers alike. Offering both vinyasa and ashtanga classes, Caroline promotes reflection and the spiritual dimension to yoga, presenting the retreats as a space to escape the stresses and trials of city life and a period of time solely to calm the body.

For more information, click here.

5. Fluid Movement, Almagro

  Having taught ashtanga yoga since 2004, Thuy Bogart simultaneously teaches and practises with ease in her comfortable and relaxed Almagro studio. Her postures range from sun salutations to long held stretches, and vary from person to person depending on how advanced their practise is, providing a good work out as well as an invigorating experience. Her explanations are concise and explanatory and the small class sizes provide a good opportunity to ask for specific pointers. Her ashtanga classes are both deeply intensive and refreshingly relaxing, and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. Catering to the needs of any level of practitioner, Thuy gives as much or as little support as is needed, encouraging breaks and resting postures as much as gently pushing you towards that headstand you have always been afraid to try.

Class times, sizes and fees vary. For more information click here.

Yoga retreat and farm garden (Photo/Laura Mojonnier)

The trope of the Western traveller heading east in search of spiritual enlightenment is nothing new: the perceived simplicity of ancient traditions like Hinduism and Buddhism can seem like the perfect antidote to the material excesses of modern life.

But while these mystic quests can be used to justify an expensive trip to an Indian ashram (like the one Elisabeth Gilbert takes in the hit memoir-turned-Julia-Roberts-movie ‘Eat, Pray, Love’), these days one can find opportunities for spiritual awakening a little closer to home.

One such place is Eco Yoga Park, a yoga and meditation retreat outside of General Rodriguez, about two hours from Buenos Aires via colectivo, run by adherents of Vaishnava Hinduism, popularly known as “Hare Krishnas”. The park is one of more than 2000 yoga centres, institutes and vegetarian restaurants that make up The Superior Institute for Vedic Studies (ISEV), an umbrella organisation based in India meant to promote the country’s rich culture and Vaishnava practices.

Tourists and porteños alike can find relief from the urban chaos of la capital in this eco village and hostel for a few days or a few months at a time, as long as they are willing to renounce certain creature comforts and full plumbing systems, and endure the occasional, gentle explanation of Vaishnava philosophies.

A Rustic Retreat

Arriving at Eco Yoga Park via a rocky, unpaved road that cuts through provincial farmlands, one is hardly reminded of the sublime beauty of the natural world. Flat fields of vegetables and cows being tended to largely by Bolivian migrants surround the park, and in the cold, muddy Argentine winter, the setting is almost bleak. (But perhaps the mind more easily embarks on an inner journey when there is less to look at.)

The park itself is a collection of small buildings made of wood and stone, nestled next to a modest vegetable farm and an impressive, conspicuous white dome, which serves as a temple. The basic accommodations include bunk-style lodging, dry “green” toilets, and no heating or air conditioning, which was difficult to endure in the winter, despite the extra blankets.

Yoga classes emphasise endurance over brute strength (Photo/Laura Mojonnier)

Guests split their time between practising yoga, meditating, and eating delicious vegetarian food. The first meditation is offered at 5am in the white dome, where the half a dozen ‘permanent’ residents of the park practice their morning prayers and change the clothing of the figurines of the god Vishnu placed on the temple’s altar. Paying guests are invited but not required to come to this early event.

Different teachers lead mid-morning hatha yoga each day. These classes offer a slow, serene yoga practice, focusing on holding poses for extended periods of time and emphasising balance and endurance over agility and brute strength. The sessions end in singing the Hare Krishna mantra, which basically consists of repeating the words “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama” in different orders – all names for incarnations of the religion’s main god, Vishnu. By the end of the weekend I found myself involuntarily humming the tune.

Afternoon music therapy takes place in the temple, with the park’s permanent residents leading cheery worship songs in front of the altar on guitar and drums. With the chilled out hippie vibe, I could almost forget that I was sitting in a place of worship, participating in a religious ritual.

Pre-dinner meditation incorporates some gentler yoga – more focused on stretching than strength – and features more direct lectures on Hare Krishna doctrine, including readings from religious texts. Depending on one’s level of Spanish, these can be easy to tune out (the teachers do offer translations in English, for those who are interested).

Vegetarian Grub to Chant “Om” For

Hare Krishna Vegetarian Meal (Photo/Laura Mojonnier)

One of the main tenets of Hare Krishna belief is vegetarian eating. Very little dairy is used, and alcohol, eggs, and caffeine are forbidden, along with garlic and onions, which are thought to inspire unsavoury passion. But despite these restrictions, the park’s food is delectable (as long as you like whole grains and beets), providing a needed break from the bland porteño diet.

“I loved all of it, specifically the wrap was great and the chocolate desert balls,” said Lauren Storella, an American who was taking a break from her English teaching job in the city. “It was very nutritious, like I was feeding my body what it needed, not like I was eating simply because I was hungry.

The daily menus blend traditional Indian spices and dishes like sabji and chapatti bread with influences from South American vegetarian cuisine. Fruit-based cakes are served for desert, and seconds are encouraged.

Sustainability is also a priority at Eco Yoga Park: In May-September, 50-70% of the food served comes directly from the park’s farm (which guests can join a volunteer program to work on), with the rest coming from local markets. In October-April, that number rises to 80-100%.

A Voyage Into the Mystic

Though the park has been open since 1997, it has seen a marked increase in tourists in the last 2 or 3 years, according to director Thakur Das, who has lived there since 2005.

Hare Krishna Yogi (Photo/Brian Funk)

“There is more interest in alternative lifestyles, organic agriculture, ecotourism,” Das said. “There are people who come because… they are looking for a yoga retreat, they are looking to experience an alternative, sustainable lifestyle. They want to do organic farming. There are people who want to travel, but in a more conscientious way.”

Das said that the goal of the park is not to convert people to Hare Krishna-ism, but rather to expose them to the positive aspects of their way of life.

“I want people to develop an interest in alternative lifestyles, to live in contact with nature, to eat healthfully, to practice yoga and meditation, to be in contact with people who are seriously spiritual and to see that these are people who are really happy,” he said. “If they develop an interest in the way of life, we’re happy. But only to improve someone’s consciousness—their quality of life—for us, that’s the project.”

Eco Yoga Park’s association with the Hindu sect is not mentioned anywhere on its website, its blog, or the fliers it passes out in hostels. After talking to more than half a dozen guests and volunteers, the few who had known prior to arriving that the park was run by Hare Krishnas had heard through friends.

According to Swami Giri, national director of ISEVAR, not mentioning the park’s religious affiliation is intentional.

“In reality if we put that we are Hare Krishna, there will be people who think that ‘I’m not Hare Krishna, I can’t go’,” Giri said. “Simply, we don’t put it, so that if someone wants to participate, they have the chance to partake and get to know the practice. The goal of the park is to share. If someone does not have a religion or a culture, and wants to know about ours, they are welcome.”

Most guests I spoke with did not find the religious element oppressive.

“I found it interesting to begin to learn bits about a different way of life and a philosophy that I know very little about,” said Gemma Grass-Orkin, a writer from London who is currently living in Buenos Aires. “This religious aspect neither enhanced or detracted from my experience, it was an essential part of it. The only point at which I felt uncomfortable was when a yoga teacher made a generalisation about city-dwellers, saying they were crazy/loco and violent people. Of course it’s true to an extent, but it’s not very healthy or positive to stereotype like that in my opinion.”

Said Storella, “I never felt pressured or uncomfortable at all. I truly felt like their main goal…was to provide a relaxing, beautiful weekend for us which is what we came for…not to try to recruit us.”

For more information, visit www.ecoyogapark.com. Depending on length of stay, daily rates are US$28-33 for the yoga/meditation retreat depending, which includes yoga, meditation, 3 vegetarian/vegan meals and 1 snack a day, a nightly film, and access to an extensive library of books on Hinduism, Vaishnava philosophy, and hatha yoga. Tourists can also join the volunteer program, which includes all of the aforementioned food and activities, but requires 4.5 hours of work 6 days a week, usually in the form of helping out on the farm, construction and preparing meals. This second program costs US$12-15/day, depending on length of stay.

Photo by Rosalie Smith

Whether you are a hardcore yogi or a curious beginner there is no shortage of yoga classes in Buenos Aires. Walking around Palermo or Barrio Norte, it sometimes feels like you see a studio on every block. But if you want to get in on the action, yet still don’t feel confident following instructions in Spanish, there are now two classes on offer especially for English speakers. Both teach Vinyasa yoga (a style which involves a lot of flowing movement, rather than just standing in poses for minutes on end) and both are given by women from the United States. However, despite their obvious similarities, the tone of the lessons are very different.

Buena Onda yoga is absolutely true to its name: in a beautiful studio, with elements of aromatherapy and a calm, supportive teaching style, it’s an ocean of tranquillity in the middle of Buenos Aires.

YoGO! Saturday Night Yoga Fever also lives up to its title: a fast paced, almost aerobic class, it will get your blood pumping (sometimes to the accompaniment of reggaetón) before you go out on a Saturday night.

Photo by Rosalie Smith

Buena Onda Yoga

If you do yoga to relax, then this is a class for you. Taking place in a lovely, wooden-floored studio in Recoleta, it is the perfect way to break up a working week, and give yourself an antidote to all those long journeys crammed into sweaty colectivos or jamming your way onto subte trains.

The class is run by Katie Trigg, a 23-year-old trained contemporary dancer from Wisconsin. She started practicing yoga in university to counteract the strain she suffered from dancing. However, after graduating college she leaned more towards giving yoga classes than working as a dancer, simply because she loved teaching. “I find it really gratifying…seeing someone begin to connect with their body,” she tells me. Her commitment to teaching and calm friendliness really set the tone of the lesson.

Photo by Rosalie Smith

The best thing about Katie’s class is that, even though you’re always working on the same postures, it’s never about just going through the motions. Katie will take time to explain the point of the different poses to you, so that you understand what you’re trying to achieve. She will also come round during the lesson and gently correct your posture. With a training in Alexander technique, she has a profound understanding of how muscles and reflexes work, and with a light touch on you shoulder or back, she’s able to trigger your body so that you stretch or twist much further than you ever believed you could. This means that, even though the atmosphere of the class is tranqui, your muscles actually end up doing a lot of work, and you sometimes ache more afterwards than if you’d been doing an hour of running. I’ve been practising yoga more or less regularly over the past two years, and I can say with certainty that I’ve never felt like I’ve improved more than I did after three weeks in this class.

The atmosphere in the studio is intimate, as there are rarely more than seven of eight people in the room at the same time. Katie burns palo santo incense and plays music ranging from Bon Iver to Al Green to Radiohead. As you lie in the final posture, she will sometimes come round and give you a mini-shoulder massage with aromatherapy oils to aid relaxation. Lying on the wooden floor, with the smell of oils and incense, listening to Thom York and the sound of your own breathing, this is the absolute definition of Buena Onda.

What’s more, if you want to take the relaxation experience up a notch, once a month the Buena Onda yoga studio offers a ‘Moon Light’ yoga class. This is an evening of yoga, live music and massage, followed by a vegetarian meal. For $115 it is an incredible combination of the healthy and the decadent.

Katie teaches from 3.30-4.45pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The studio is at Arenales 2096 (corner of Junín). For more information see the website: www.buenaondayoga.com. Classes cost $40 for a drop in class, $20 a class if you subscribe to ten classes over two months. Katie has also recently started teaching classes in her house in Spanish. For more information, visit http://ktyoga.blogspot.com

YoGO! Saturday Night Yoga Fever

YoGO!, taught by 22-year-old Caroline McCann from New Jersey in Arenales Gym, absolutely lives up to its name. Although there is no 70s disco music, it is fast paced, fun and will have you sweating in minutes.

Photo by Rosalie Smith

Caroline began teaching yoga in Buenos Aires a few months ago, after originally being certified as a group fitness instructor. She was motivated to switch to teaching yoga classes here because that she thought there was a gap in the market for fast-paced, US-style classes in Argentina: “I went to a few classes here that were basically just lying there the whole time,” she tells me. She had friends from the States who also expressed frustration, saying they wanted “more bang for their buck”. “They’re looking for a real work out,” Caroline tells me, and that’s exactly what she offers.

The atmosphere of the class is fun and sporty and the tone is set by the music Caroline uses, which ranges from the gladiator sound track (this really adds a dramatic element to the warrior poses!) to reggaetón. The choice of music, like the style of the class, is based on what Caroline herself has enjoyed in the past: “Most hard-core yogis say you shouldn’t have music at all, but all the classes I really enjoy have music. Not just chanting, but stuff that I recognise,” she says. However, despite pushing the boundaries of traditional styles, Caroline is also committed to the history of yoga, and still teaches all the stances and sequences that you would expect. “Yoga has existed for hundreds of years, and I think there’s something to be said for it’s long-standing power,” she tells me.

There are usually between 15 and 20 students in the gym, and, in contrast to Buena Onda yoga, which tends to have a lot more female students, here there are both guys and girls. One of the best things about this class is that it’s varied. Caroline will come up with a wholly different routine every week, often focusing on different part of the body, so that you’re always pushing your boundaries in a new area. In every way, she keeps you on your toes.

Caroline teaches on Saturdays from 7–8pm at Arenales Gym, Arenales 2593 (corner of Ecuador). Classes cost $10. For more information see the facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/YoGO-Power-Yoga/248220089418?ref=ts

Photo by Hayden Lewis

“You have to get out of your mind,” says Candice McAdams, participant of Water Dance. “You have to learn to trust and surrender, to connect with yourself and others.”

Marcel takes clients on a spiritual journey around a heated swimming pool, and cites the benefits of his sessions as being “personal growth, development of consciousness and relaxation”.

This new phenomenon could best be described as aquatic yoga. For anybody experiencing psychological or emotional problems or who is just plain worn out this mode of therapy may just be the trick for you. If you need some new direction and want to step out of your life for a while, then Water Dance could be the answer.

Candice was not sure what to expect from the classes. “I didn’t know what it was, but I decided to try. It’s incredible. You feel the effects days afterwards. You feel lighter and liberated. At some moments in the water it’s as if you are returning to the womb.”

Marcel requests that those interested contact him by email and answer a few questions about why they desire the treatment. He insists on speaking to all of his clients by phone to make sure that they are prepared and focussed. A date is set and the participant arrives half an hour before the session is due to start.

You firstly talk about what you hope to achieve from Water Dance. Marcel is open to any themes or moods the subjects wish to concentrate on in the pool. “You can take a theme into the session if you want,” he explains. “Or you can just let yourself go.”

Photo by Hayden Lewis

The participant, Candice, is taken alone by Marcel into a heated pool. They share the warmth and ripples of water. Standing opposite each other, breathing in short bursts to calm the mind, the two begin to talk whilst relaxing music creates a mysterious aura.

He then takes control, and she submits her body to him. He places floats under the neck and knees and begins a sensual massage of the toes and legs, sliding her into a dark cave of unconsciousness.

After some ‘play’ on the surface of the water Marcel softly removes the floats, and begins pulling Candice around the pool in graceful, swan-like movements. She seems a corpse floating on a desolate lake; Marcel is almost invisible.

After a while, Marcel gently attaches a peg to her nose so that she will be able to move. He tentatively dips her, each time for slightly longer. He is pushing her to the limit, but she remains oblivious, as if she were a bewitched Sleeping Beauty.

Their bodies are close, the movements are very intimate. Stomach, legs, arms, chest and neck all become one as the model is contorted into various positions above and under the water. Marcel deftly supports Candice’s weight and delicately caresses her body to relax her even further. So smooth are his movements, one imagines them being under the spell of a conductor orchestrating a classical wind performance.

Photo by Hayden Lewis

To conclude the session, Marcel pushes her against the pool wall, gently massaging all of her body to bring her back in to our world. On re-emerging Candice says she has a “Where am I?” sensation.

“It’s like getting off a ride,” she muses. “You feel more relaxed and peaceful. This is my second session and it felt deeper. It helps release you from your mind.”

Having shared their emotions, both seem very relaxed and at ease. Marcel explains that some are different people when they emerge.

“You need one session to digest what is,” he explains. “In the second it goes deeper, and from then on you intensely feel it.”

Swimming experience is not necessary, nor does it matter if you are scared of water or breathing under the surface. Gringos are however discriminated against. Argentines pay $100 pesos per session, and foreigners a ludicrous $185. Because they are all stinking rich, no?

Arrange a Water Dance session by sending an email to Marcel at water_healingdance@hotmail.com. Sessions take place at Aguirre 1056, and can be arranged on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 8pm and 11pm, and on Saturdays between 10am and 1pm. Men and women are both welcome.

Photo by Caitlin Murray

Charlie Higgins is a 27-year-old artist and yogi who first came to Buenos Aires in 2002 planning to study for a year. The city’s stirring airs, however, have kept him here ever since. Originally from Indiana in the US, one of his current projects is to put three of his paintings in the ground in locations that are important to him; St Louis, Missouri; Portland, Oregon and Buenos Aires. In this interview he waxes lyrical about his experimental form of ‘gravity’ painting, meditation and the inspirational vegetables in his beloved barrio: Almagro.

Why did you decide to come to Buenos Aires?

I got to Argentina because of a few circumstances. At one point I was living in Spain and Argentine friends told me that the University of Buenos Aires was free, so I decided to come because in the US it costs about US$30,000 a year to go to university.

So what happened when you first arrived back in 2002?

When I arrived I found a students’ residence that was very special. It was small and had an interesting spirit. I lived there with 17 Argentine guys and still have three friends that I made during that time. It was total immersion!

Are there any things you miss about living in the US?

Nothing that I really miss… but I’m not from a big city, I’m from a small town, so when I go back to the US it’s nice to return to the time and place that I’m from and be able to get into that environment again. I find that here, sometimes, there’s a lot of concrete, a lot of people and a very fast rhythm of life. It’s nice to go back and relax in a smaller setting.

What’s your favourite thing about Buenos Aires?

I really like my neighbourhood Almagro. I like the restaurants, vegetable markets and the trees in the neighbourhood. And the sunshine and light that Buenos Aires has.  Also, the people that I’ve met in Buenos Aires have been very interesting for my life and work.

I know that you’ve travelled a lot, is Buenos Aires the most special place in the world for you?

I was only planning on staying here for a year to study, but within a few months I’d bought a house in Almagro. One thing led to another. I always said the air in Buenos Aires is very viscous, it’s almost like you can touch it and so I became very inspired.  It was all very natural. I never had a big plan or lots of options that made me go wild for Buenos Aires, but very simple things that felt very special to me. I thought: “Wow!” This is where it’s at!

You write quite a bit of your blog in Spanish.  Do you do that because Spanish allows you to express yourself in a different way?

I love the play between English and Spanish words. When I write in Spanish I like being able to look at it from an English point of view. It’s the same when I write in English. Spanish has a sing-songy way of opening up the various structures. English can be like speaking with a potato in your mouth. I like trying to make English have a bit more of a rhyme and rhythm to it.

On your blog you explain that you combine pigments and other mediums on a horizontal surface to create experimental paintings that grow. How did this idea occur to you?

Photo by Caitlin Murray

Well, I lived in a house with other artists. We formed the ‘Grupo Lila’. We had a big house in Constitución and more space. We bought enamel paints, which are different to oil paint because of the chemical components, to be able to cover big surfaces because they’re cheaper and more plastick-y. I started by having, just coincidentally, wood on a flat surface. I decided that first I would light candles because I like the way a candle melts and creates its own form. Around that I decided to mix enamel paint to create the ground for the painting. I actually had a Mozart symphony on, I think, and as I started mixing the colours – like a conductor with a knife – they started to create these natural water and gasoline mixtures. They’re like two substances that do mix and, at the same time, don’t mix. They drew themselves together through gravity towards the centre of the canvas. If the paint is viscous it will move quickly towards the centre, but there are other paints that are heavier, like landmasses, and the paint flows around them. It’s a lot of learning experiences.

So although you sort of know what’s going to happen there are still elements of the painting that surprise you?

Every single day there’s a step back and a “wow!” said because of chemical reactions or the way things just naturally make themselves. It’s not preconceived it’s something that has its own life force.

Do you have a favourite artist?

Sure, my uncle Bob has been my biggest inspiration. Naturally I like Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Jackson Pollock, Sigmund Holt and Andy Warhol, but I also love the person I was with as a young kid. When I was old enough I would drive down to Louisville from Indiana to stay with my uncle for the weekend, we’d smoke pot together. As a young person I could let go a bit, marvel at life. I’d wake up in his apartment and see his paintings on the walls which he’s been doing for 40 years. I’d see his dedication to that and hear his stories about his art, where he was when he painted certain pieces because he’s lived in New York and San Francisco. It’s good as a young person to have someone who opens your horizons.

Are your art and your yoga related? On your website I saw your paintings of certain yoga postures.

Yeah, I made those paintings to give as cards to my students. If you just write down lesson times on a plain piece of paper it tends to get lost or thrown in the trash. So I decided to do those little paintings that were my way of giving my cards out. My yoga and my painting is very integrated. When I’m painting, just like in a yoga position, I’m trying to see if I am thinking, feeling or if I have sensation.

So painting is kind of like meditation for you?

Yes. When I have a gesture, which is my way of interacting with the surface, I can either be painting and just be painting, or I might be thinking about what I’m going to have for dinner, or whatever else. If I’m painting and I start thinking about other things I lose touch with the painting and something that’s not pure or transparent happens. Whenever a thought comes I detach myself from it and go back to painting. It’s so hard for humans to stop all the thoughts, slow down and say I just want to paint. Such a simple thing. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest things to do.

To find out more about Charlie Higgins’s art work or yoga lessons visit his website: www.higginscharlie.com 

Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Tania Alvarez moved to Buenos Aires to marry her high school sweetheart. A yoga instructor, a cook and an eternal optimist, the 29-year-old has lived for three years with a guru, taught yoga to children in Brazil’s favelas and, in the past year, managed to bring Zen to Argentina’s bustling capital. In this interview the Recoleta-dweller shares her thoughts on the philosophy of yoga, reincarnation, religion, and where to find the best Arabic food in Buenos Aires.

How did you end up in Buenos Aires?

I came to Buenos Aires years ago with my family. I finished high school here, and that was when I met the man who is now my husband. When I finished school we separated, and I went home to Brazil for five years to study yoga. My then-boyfriend/now-husband, Franco, is from Argentina and he wants to live here for his whole life. So I came back, we got married in March, and now I’ve been living in Buenos Aires for almost a year.

What was your first impression of Buenos Aires and its inhabitants?

It’s a very beautiful, open city with a lot of green space, a lot of parks and beautiful people. They’re not as cheerful as people from Brazil, but they’re good, receptive, trustworthy people.

What do you miss most about Brazil?

Brazilians! And the food.

Where do you live?

Recoleta

How do you get around the city?

I always prefer to walk. I listen to my iPod so the noise doesn’t distract me… I’m in my own world. When I can’t walk I’ll take the bus or a taxi – I think both are fantastic.

How did you become a yoga instructor?

Ever since the first time I tried yoga six years ago with a friend in Fortaleza I knew that I wanted to do it forever, and that I wanted to share it with other people. It does me a lot of good, and I want to spread that feeling.

I had studied business, and at that time I was working for a company that had nothing to do with yoga. But I started going to all of the yoga seminars and conferences, and I sort of made it my career without realising it. I would go to favelas to give free yoga classes to children. When I saw how beautiful it was to teach, to see other people feel what I felt, I decided to study a little more so I could pass it to more people.

There in Brazil I was a member of a large studio, and I had a teacher called María José Marinho who was 76 years old, and I studied by her side for three years, 24 hours a day. She treated me like her disciple and her daughter, and she was my guru. I lived with her all the time, studying and teaching yoga from morning until night. I learned a lot from her, not just about practising yoga, but also about the philosophy, and where it comes from.

What is the most important thing to take from the philosophy of yoga?

To always be growing and evolving. It’s a physical, spiritual and mental evolution… a way of learning to understand yourself better.

How can you apply that to everyday life?

By respecting your body and yourself, finding peace with your body, detoxifying it and knowing how to breathe. A person who knows how to breathe knows how to bring their mind to the present.

Do you believe in reincarnation?

Yes. I think we’re always growing, and my goal is to be a bit better in the next life.

Do you think you’re an old soul? What have you been in a past life, and what would you like to become in your next life?

I think I do have an old soul. I think I have some oriental culture in me – some of India. In the next life I want to be a person again (not an animal), and I want to be happy with myself, and to help others. I want to evolve spiritually.

Do you do any physical activities apart from yoga?

I do capoeira. It’s a Brazilian martial art combined with dance that was brought to Brazil by Africans. I also love dancing. I think all Brazilians love dancing.

If you weren’t a yoga instructor, what would you be?

I would want to work with food. I really like cooking, and I’d like to be a chef. I’d cook Brazilian food, like rice and fish…

What are your favourite restaurants in Buenos Aires?

The restaurant Sarkis does great Arabic food, and there’s a restaurant at Laprida and Charcas called Tandoor that does really rich Indian food. Those are my two favourites.

Take me through a typical day.

I wake up early. I really like being a homemaker. I like to keep my house very tidy, and to cook for myself and for my husband. I practise yoga every day at an alter in my house, and then I leave to teach yoga in the afternoons. Sometimes I teach up to five classes a day, but always in the afternoon because I like dedicating the mornings to myself and to my husband.

What’s the quality you most admire in others?

Expressiveness. To be able to show your feelings, and to express love. To be open.

Do you have a religion?

I have my own religion. I appreciate Buddhism, Hinduism and spirituality. I do believe in something bigger, some greater force, but it doesn’t take the form of any god. It’s more like a light, a superior energy that is very wise.

Do you remember your dreams?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I don’t think I dream very much… I think I dream most while I’m awake.

Do you want to live in Buenos Aires forever?

No! I love it, I think it’s gorgeous, but I want to live somewhere more peaceful, in the country, somewhere where I can raise a family. I’d like to live in the Pampa.

What’s your favourite place in the world to do yoga?

The best place doesn’t exist for me… only the best moment. It’s a personal moment, a feeling inside. I need to practice yoga, to care for my body, mind and spirit, and to concentrate on myself. If I reach something beautiful in that moment, then that’s certainly the best place in the world to be. 

Tania Alvarez teaches ashtanga yoga at Genesis (Marcelo T de Alvear 1903, Recoleta, www.genesisclub.com.ar) Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm and at Estudio Cristina Tabachnik Mondays and Fridays at 2pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm. For more information on private classes, visit www.taniayoga.com